


Advanced Origins

by Adrecius1120



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night (Visual Novel), Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 82,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrecius1120/pseuds/Adrecius1120
Summary: Origin, a unique connection of a Magus to the root, allowing for special individuals to push the limits of Magecraft and enter the realm of True Magic. Shirou Emiya, left empty and burdened by the scars of the fire pushes Thaumaturgy to its full potential assisted with dual Origins of Conceptualization and Sword in quests to correct his emptiness and pursue his ultimate Destiny.
Relationships: Emiya Shirou & Artoria Pendragon | Saber, Emiya Shirou & Tohsaka Rin, Emiya Shirou/Artoria Pendragon | Saber
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Prologue

_Each individual possesses an Origin, A defining main attribute that so perfectly encapsulates that individual's base existence better than any possible description can give it. Regardless of the Race or the capabilities of the individual or even their ability to do magic, they possess an Origin. That Origin in some way or another, to small or large degrees, dictates that individual's every decision. Peel away every memory, every unique experience, every incident significant or insignificant to the individual that has nurtured them and you have run into the truest form of existence that they can possess. They are now the Physical Embodiment of their Origin. It is that Origin that will be the instinct that will dictate the individual's moral code as well as their choices._

_In the system of Magic and Magecraft, an Origin is of far greater significance. The Origin of an individual is just a trait such as mischievousness but rather something more. An Origin is a special stream from the Root, the Akashic Records, the Vortex of Radix and a multitude of other Names. Whatever the name, it is the repository of all knowledge, the Root to all things. It is this stream that takes a material form in an individual. It is each individual's unique connection to the true basis of reality. It represents a path, a purpose to each idiosyncratic existence._

_To awaken an Origin is something revolutionary. An act that could change and shake the very fabric of reality itself. Whether artificially or naturally, to awaken an Origin is to trigger an inner state of the soul. Making an individual exhibit more unique traits and behaviors contrary to what they have previously done._

_It is through this awakening that individuals can go beyond their natural potential, discover and utilize new branches of Thaumaturgy or Magecraft. Allowing them to perform Unique mysteries unable to be replicated by Magecraft such as Magic. True miracles impossible to find in the modern world._

_It is with immense caution or ambition should an individual even consider to awaken their Origin. It could lead to major disadvantages or even a major advantage with the consequences unable to be comprehended by the mortal mind. Of course, after awakening an Origin, there is a chance one could no longer link their existence so easily to a moral concept such as mortality…_

* * *

**Heat. Blistering, unbearable heat… Pressure, akin to being weighed down by mountains… Pain, impossible amounts of pain, every action, every step, causing nerves, alive or dead, to shriek in agony…**

**This was all that he knew, for all the boy saw was fire, being inside the world's hottest furnace, every object was melting, losing their structure quickly every second, individuals trapped in this fiery inferno, crying out, none with a chance to escape. Any assistance to be gained from the other brave citizens sacrificing themselves, enabling others to escape was futile, for there was no escape, there was no peace, nowhere safe to go, no place of refuge, no gods to grace themselves to help the faithful, there was nothing but death, fiery unavoidable death…**

**Still… the boy persisted, losing his identity, sacrificing something every step of the way, for a chance to escape this cruel reality, for as far as he was concerned this was all he knew, did the boy even know his name at this point?**

**What was it…Shirogo?...Ichirou?...Shiroma?...Shirou? was that it? Was it his name? Did it matter?**

**He felt his lungs giving out, each and every second bringing it closer to collapse, His limbs were aching, he had already lost the ability to walk upright, now only able to crawl on his hands and knees, his eyes were straining, enduring unparalleled pain just to keep open, fighting against the instinct to give in to the darkness, to the cold embrace of death…**

**Right as Shirou collapsed, he saw a figure in a suit, crying and smiling for the ability to be able to save him. In countless worlds, the boy would wish to experience the sensation of what was the incident that allowed the man to have such a smile in such a bleak circumstance, in countless worlds, this would be the incident to kick start the boy's unique destiny, in this world, the boy with the last thoughts he had before collapsing into unconsciousness, he questioned. The boy questioned the purity of the smile for all the boy wanted for was to simply understand it for in such a bleak world it seemed like an impossible prospect to be able to gain such an emotion without a unique catalyst. The boy wished to experience such a phenomenon. To undergo such a unique catalyst so that he gained a purpose. A reason for existence…**

* * *

_Deep in unconsciousness, unaware, the boy experienced a feeling of the purest magic, giving a soothing, peaceful sensation beyond what he had ever experienced. The sensation, healed every inch of the body, healing every scar, every burn and bruise inflicted on the boy as a result the cursed fire, in doing so, the magic healed every inch of the boy, remaking him, changing him…making him…more._

_The magic was Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur, the greatest sword that ever was, or will be, the purity and power of Avalon was unmatched, able to heal every injury, able to provide protection against every possible force. Fueled by the remnants of the energies of its owner in countless worlds, its purity would overwrite every origin, every alignment the boy possessed into its own nature. It did not matter the origin, whether it be a physical, imaginary or theoretical, the purity of Avalon would overwrite it all, and in countless worlds, this would be all the boy was left with, the embodiment of this new origin._

_This world however, was different, for no matter the power, no matter the purity, the sheath would not be able to overwrite the origin for it was what which allowed it to exist, not the physical materials that Avalon was made of, unique and powerful as they were, but what gave it its power, its strength, for beyond anything, Avalon was not just an object but rather the physical embodiment of an ideal, of a concept of Utopia for that was what Avalon represented, not purity, not protection but rather Utopia, a peaceful and safe land that was meant for King Arthur after a noble and storied destiny of serving others._

_As such, Avalon could not overwrite the boy's origin, for it would not be able to overwrite itself, a physical ideal, a crystallized mystery made real by embodying a concept. Instead, with its energies still drifting and without a purpose, Avalon would enhance the boy's alignment or origin, even being inert, having used its last vestiges of power to heal and remake the boy._

_The Origin, the gift of the root would remain, the new origin and alignment of sword, the gift of the sheath would also remain, accompanying the true origin… the origin of conceptualization, both being activated as a result of Avalon's influence._

Shirou woke up to a constant beeping and a thick and heavy smell of disinfectant. He recalled the first thing that came to mind, which was the fire. He recalled being rather heavily injured and collapsing in a man's arms before collapsing into blackness. He felt good…no better than that, he felt great actually, Shirou had never ever felt this great before. He was rather perplexed at the situation for even surviving the fire, he did not expect his lungs to be in any kind of condition to be able to not rely on a breathing apparatus of any sort.

His mind was surprisingly clear considering having undergone such a traumatic incident. He heard footsteps, footsteps that denoted multiple individuals with a purpose walking towards his hospital bed. He surveyed his room, it was a small rather sparse room with only him and several machines, it had spartan furnishings and a window covered by curtains displaying the view of the outside world. From the amount of light getting through the curtains, shirou deduced that it was likely to be in the morning when he woke up.

A doctor and two nurses walked in, while the doctor questioned him, the nurses were monitoring his vitals. Aside from some administrative questions in which all he recalled to be able to give was his name, he was inquiring about the fire of the city of Fuyuki.

"Shirou…you were found at the ground zero of the fire, it is believed that you are the only individual to survive the fire, you appear to have quite severe amnesia which is normal for such a traumatic incident, however it is rather miraculous and unusual how you were found physically unscathed considering the magnitude of the fire, especially when you were near to the cause. Nevertheless, you are perfectly fine and you are able to be discharged soon."

"The man who saved you is waiting outside the room, he would like to speak to you, would you be fine with that?"

"That would be fine, Doctor"

Shirou agreed with the doctor, confused with why his savior would want to speak to him, was he a detective, wanting to know more about the cause of the incident? Shirou could comprehend no other reason why.

A man wearing a black suit and trench coat walked in, his face is blank and his eyes looked empty, as though lacking a purpose. He looked as though his life had been turned upside down, as though his reason of existence was lost. This was a stark contrast to how he had been when he had saved Shirou.

"Shirou. I hear that's your name. Would you rather go with a stranger that you have just met than go to the orphanage?"

"I must first tell you, in the spirit of being forthright. I am Kiritsugu Emiya. I am what's known as an individual that performs magecraft. I am a Magus. I must ask, would you like to be adopted...?"

* * *

Life after the fire was strange. Shirou had lost his memories of his previous life before the fire. He still had his language skills but he had also lost most of his basic knowledge about the world. Even with the changes after the fire being apparent, he had lost the knowledge about how to navigate through Fuyuki City.

What was crucial however was that he seemed to have also lost something within him. A regular individual upon observation of a familiar object would have an emotional association of some sort, however minor with the object. It was as though Shirou had lived in a muted reality without emotional connections to everything around him.

Shirou would not know better or even how attaching an emotion to an object could work, especially with his lost memories, but even with nothing to guide him, he had recognized that there was something wrong with him. Whatever he did, whatever he was going to do, had felt pointless. All he felt was emptiness.

Kiritsugu Emiya had helped him immensely in his new life. The strange man who had adopted him had seemed to recognize what Shirou was going through. It had helped him a lot. It had been several months after his adoption but everything had already started to feel… less pointless. A strange woman had started to come over to the Emiya residence every week. She had called herself Taiga Fujimura. She was a… strange person.

Shirou had found himself lost within the Emiya residence. Kiritsugu had accompanied him everyday since his adoption but he was currently in the process of finding a job. Shirou had not felt a motivation to do anything. He had known nothing after the fire. He had one curiosity however… Magecraft.

After the initial revelation after the adoption of him, Kiritsugu had not spoken about that topic. The only other incident in which he had mentioned Magecraft was when he was feeding him with pills. It was apparently to combat the toxicity of the Magic that had been used to cure and heal Shirou from his wounds during the fire.

It hadn't taken long after his lack of action and purpose after the fire that Shirou had requested Kiritsugu to instruct him in the art of Magecraft. He had been reluctant but had showed him how to perform the basic arts of Material Transmutation. Reinforcement, Alteration and Graduation Air. Lacking of purpose or wants in his new life, this was one of Shirou's first attachments. Magecraft. He would master and know more about this subject.

Aside from just teaching him the basic art of Material Transmutation of Magecraft, Kiritsugu had also given him an overview of the what was Magecraft and what being a Magus meant. He had described some basic practices of Magi that had the implication that he should ascribe to them. He had also confusingly enough instructed Shirou to ignore some of the practices.

Shirou was fine with it. He had not known enough about this topic to judge. Besides, the true reason he had initially suggested the topic of Magecraft was due to Kiritsugu being a Magus. Kiritsugu was his savior, his first sight after he had lost what was effectively his existence. He wished to understand Kiritsugu.

Kiritsugu was the first adult that Shirou had gotten to know in this strange new world. He had acted so differently from the woman who came over. He didn't know if Kiritsugu was normal or not. He had not enough references to judge. He was curious about Kiritsugu however. This was his saviour. This was the man who strangely wanted to take up the responsibility of adopting him.

What were his motives? What were the different aspects of him? Who or what was Kiritsugu truly? Why had he been so happy at saving Shirou but the next and subsequent interactions of him had not painted him as the same individual? Kiritsugu had adopted a kindly and gentle attitude towards the individuals he had interacted with including that woman who came over.

Why did his eyes tell a different story? He seemed to be devoid of a purpose like Shirou but he had managed to find a distinction. Rather than being without a purpose, Kiritsugu had seemed to lose it and had been broken by it. It seemed as though his entire experiences in life had weighed him down and one final incident had been the cause of his brokenness.

This was a scant few months into Shirou's new life after the fire and the only life he had known so far. He had been without desires but he had gained fascinations. He had developed obsessions. He had not yet found a purpose and his life was mostly an empty existence but he had found what could constitute as a purpose of some sort. Magecraft and primarily the desire and curiosity to find out more about his guardian. Why was Kiritsugu, Kiritsugu...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> This story came as a inspiration of wanting to write a Shirou Emiya that is vastly different from any of the routes as well as all of the different fate fanfictions. It was due to this that I had wanted to change so much about Shirou Emiya so that what we know as Canon had almost become unrecognizable. I did not want to write him out of character, as such I had to begin from the start of the story and start with small changes before the branches could spread out and become my vision of the story. I am not writing a Shirou Emiya that is totally out of character but basically a Shirou Emiya that has ever so slightly different circumstances at the beginning of his new life that will eventually deviate through a natural progression into the Shirou Emiya of my vision. This is my primary goal here. Natural and logical progression of Shirou's personality and abilities to deviate into what would be a massively different Holy Grail War.
> 
> The main aspect of my change is Shirou Emiya after the fire. Shirou Emiya is empty. He is empty like Kirei. Kirei is the extreme dark version while Shirou is the extreme light and moral version of that deviation. To do this change, we must understand why Shirou is empty. The experiences of the fire and his deep suppression or losing of his memories had resulted in him becoming empty. I have tried to express this with my writing. Shirou is a new baby chick flapping his tiny wings around and trying to understand the strange new world. To add his inherent emptiness both in my story as well as canon, we must remember that there was an alteration to Shirou's soul, an act that in whatever universe of fanfiction, will have wide reaching ramifications. His Original Origin and element was changed to the Concept of Sword. This made him an Incarnation. Due to this, he is the embodiment of what a sword signified. A sword is to be used. A sword requires a wielder. Shirou Emiya being a sword, sheaths himself into these ideals to satisfy his emptiness. This is apparent in Canon.
> 
> This is my first deviation from Canon. His Origin. This does not matter much and is never touched on in other fanfictions but what Avalon did was rewrite his soul. What if his Soul had not been rewritten? What if he Avalon had just granted him the Origin of sword on top of his previous Origin? Shirou Emiya's previous Origin does not matter here for it is never mentioned in canon and thus giving me the opportunity to come up with such a story. His Origin is 'Conceptualization' or 'concepts' The ramifications and significance of this both to his personality or skills will become more apparent later.
> 
> Shirou Emiya in canon bathes himself into the ideals of selflessness and being a Hero of Justice too much in canon. My story will touch more on the aspect of Shirou's Emptiness instead. This is due to his Origin no longer just being 'sword' and thus he does not sheath himself into the ideals. Shirou in my story will instead undergo a Journey much more similar to his mirror in emptiness. He will have a journey of discovery much more like Kirei. They are still mirrors however and going by that line of thought, Shirou has more good in his soul differing to Kirei.


	2. A Ripple of Change, Part 1

Kiritsugu Emiya was conflicted.

It had been a year since he had adopted the boy he had saved from his unknowing destruction of the life he had known before the fire. Kiritsugu did not regret destroying the Holy Grail of course but he acknowledged that he had played a large part in the incident that would lead to the destruction of most of the Shinto district and leave his new ward as the only survivor.

He had told him about magecraft from the start even though personally Kiritsugu thought there was nothing to be gained from knowing of the world of Magic. His experiences were that it would only result in tragedy. He would prefer his first acknowledgement of himself as a Magus to be the end of the topic but he had to prepare pills made with Thaumaturgy in order to prevent the toxicity from the pure magic of Avalon from poisoning what was now his adopted son.

His son had seemed lost the first few weeks and months after his adoption. He had gotten attached to a topic Kiritsugu had preferred he forgot existed. He had even requested for instructions in magecraft. While he was as far from a typical eight-year-old as a child of that age could differ and was likely not just simply enchanted by the mystique of magic he had also just gotten his bearings in life after the fire and Kiritsugu feared that refusing him could set him back significantly. As such, Kiritsugu had placated him by teaching him magecraft.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it had turned out his son had possessed an impressive count of magical circuits at twenty-seven. The quality was average but that could be improved. While there were some Magi that had possessed many more circuits with some even reaching absurd numbers such as over a hundred circuits when including their family crest, twenty-seven was still well above average. It was more than what he personally had even when taking into account the Emiya family magical crest. It was especially impressive when taking into account that by all indications and his previously inactive magical circuits, Shirou had not possessed a magical ancestry. His magical circuits were likely just a product from a mutation when he had been conceived.

Kiritsugu had been reluctant to instruct the young Emiya in magecraft. He had to placate him however and so he had decided to teach him about the basic arts of Material Transmutation. He had also given him some background about the world of Magic. Kiritsugu had taught him the basic steps of the spells that would trigger the effects but he had not taught him much more or even any tips to help his progress. Kiritsugu had hoped that this would be enough to keep him occupied for a long while. Besides, the process used in Material Transmutation was the basis of many spells in magecraft and so it could be said that Kiritsugu had taught him the basic gateway to the majority of spells in magecraft,

The young Emiya had mastered the three basic arts of Material Transmutation scarily quickly. He had recognized the main concepts of the art and had through this recognition of its basic principles at its core been able to guarantee success at every step of the spell. Kiritsugu had started to dread the day where his son would perhaps demand to learn more spells. While Material Transmutation was of a moderate difficulty to master, but with each aspect of the spell having the potential to be optimized to greater levels such that even the most skilled Magi would often not be able to get the full potential out of the spell, it was still a rather repetitive and boring process that could only be done by continuous practice.

His son had appeared to possess considerable talent within the realm of magecraft. This combined with the quantity of his magical circuits would make him a delectable talent and potential apprentice for any master seeking a protégé. Kiritsugu had been expecting him to ask for more which was why he had been surprised when upon his questioning his son had replied that he wished to understand and master the basics to a greater extent before seeking more.

His son had been preoccupied with one aspect of a spell that was required in order to activate Material Transmutation. His son was occupied with a spell called Structural Grasping. Structural Grasping was a spell used for an essential part of Material Transmutation. Structural Grasping was a spell that had allowed an individual to analyze the structural composition of the object and view the internals of each object as though it was on a blueprint.

His son's focus on this aspect of his magecraft was due to his curiosity. While he had been understandably empty when he had first started in his new life after the fire, he had gained what was a boundless curiosity and an instinct to try to understand everything around him. He had already used to spell on everything in the house that he could get his hands on from electrical appliances to the mechanical parts of different objects and any other object that the young Emiya had been inquisitive about.

The extent of his son's curiosity about the world around him had been so much that he had often delved into the realms of precariousness and foolhardy recklessness. When going out, he would occasionally use his ability on objects in the public such as cars upon ensuring that there was no one nearby that had spotted him.

It had been another act of recklessness that the young Emiya had made what could be considered a possible costly mistake. Fortunately, this was only from outside eyes. Shirou Emiya had analyzed using structural grasping and was currently in the process of tuning and modifying the bike of Fujimura Raiga, the head of the Yakuza and an associate of Kiritsugu Emiya…

* * *

" _Oh! What is this?... your son seems to possess quite a talent, Kiritsugu…"_

_The young Emiya Whipped his head around, rather startled at footsteps of individuals entering the garage._

" _Father, why haven't you opened the garage before? I didn't know that you had possessed so many interesting objects?" Shirou inquired._

_Kiritsugu looked around, indeed… it looked as if Shirou had been busy, different tools and some non-lethal gadgets from Kiritsugu's days of being an assassin were lying around, the sports bike that the Einzberns had bought to take advantage of Saber's riding skill had also looked as if it had been touched. In the few hours that Kiritsugu and Raiga had been conversing, Shirou had been quite occupied in the garage newly opened for the purpose of storing the Elder Fujimura's rare special edition sports bike. It was also the bike that he had been modifying._

" _This bike was slightly damaged and it had many flaws from its construction. I was currently modifying the structure of it to improve its reliability as well as efficiency. How well did you think I had done this father?"_

Shirou said in a matter of fact tone as he looked straight at his father in an inquisitive manner. He had not even turned his head to take notice of the Yakuza boss.

The elder Fujimura had clarified that the bike was his rather than Kiritsugu's. He was not angry or vengeful upon the modification of his bike as though would be typical from the public perception of a Yakuza boss. He had instead offered Shirou a kindly smile and had gave him a sum of money upon his finished modification of the bike.

The incident had served to develop a connection upon the elder Yakuza and Shirou. Shirou had gained a good impression and a positive sign from the attitude of the elder Fujimura. The elder Fujimura had heard of Shirou's state after the father and through a blend of empathy as well as genuine affection through his liking of the boy had proceeded to treat Shirou akin to a grandson.

* * *

That was not Shirou's only encounter with a Fujimura. Ever since he had moved in with Kiritsugu, there had been a woman of the age of a teenager coming over every so often. She was Taiga Fujimura and she was the granddaughter of the aforementioned Raiga Fujimura, the head of the Yakuza.

Part of her routine whenever she had arrived at the Emiya residence was to get into a spar in Kendo with his father, Kiritsugu. They were sparring with wooden Kendo sticks. Shirou had gotten rather entranced with the bout. His father had what could only be described with greater skills over his opponent. There was an inherent ease in which he manoeuvred around and parried her blows.

Taiga had appeared to possess what could be called a better form that possessed a more inherent grace and professional look to every blow. Kiritsugu had easily dealt with her with greater instincts and superior reflexes as well as skill derived from what was most likely experience.

This observation of their bouts had signalled the start of Shirou's new interest… Swordplay.

Not too long after the incident of Shirou's initial observation of his father and Taiga, the young boy had picked up an interest in swords and had requested and been trained by his father. He had also begun regularly sparring with both the Elder Emiya and the Female Fujimura.

The Fujimura teen had become rather unusually attached with the Pair of Emiya's and seemed to desire regularly spending time over at the Emiya household. It was due to this that she had attached herself to Shirou in her quest to help Shirou better understand the world around him. She had also developed a bond with Shirou and had self-proclaimed herself as his sister. Shirou, not knowing any better, had proceeded to accept the proclamation at face value.

This turn of events had become a positive boon as far as Shirou had been concerned even if he didn't quite know what to make of it. The Fujimura heiress had somehow managed to influence the Elder Fujimura to fund a restaurant nearby.

Ever since Shirou had been adopted, they had been eating out or having deliveries nearly every day. The rare exceptions in which Kiritsugu had tried to cook had not turned out well. Shirou had not had a great culinary experience after his lost memories after the fire but even he could tell that there was something very wrong with Kiritsugu's cooking.

The funding of the restaurant nearby was one of the greatest boon's from knowing the Fujimura's. His father was utterly dreadful at cooking and in an incident where he had be spurred on by Taiga had created an eldritch sentient abomination when attempting to make a dish for what was to be his anniversary of adoption.

After getting out of the sentient sludge that had wished to engulf everything living or dead, the Emiya pair had resigned to forever eat out.

It was after getting too exhausted from constantly having to go outside for every meal that Shirou had attempted to teach himself cooking. While magecraft was still his main focus, he had deviated some time to develop his budding talents in cooking. It appeared that he had some potential in the culinary arts. Shirou could also find some enjoyment in consuming decent food for once.

Shirou's routine now after a year after his adoption had been the spending of most of his time developing and satisfying his curiosity in magecraft. It was through many instances of practicing spells that Shirou had noticed what could be called an instinct at the back of his mind whenever he had performed a spell.

The instinct had manifested itself as tiny pricks and prods as though navigating Shirou into the right path of thinking. The instinct had served to alert Shirou whenever he had run into a concept in magecraft. This instinct had served to tell Shirou the basis of whatever magecraft he was performing as well as what areas the spell itself was flawed in.

It is through this Instinct that when using the spell called Graduation Air that had projected artificial items with magecraft made out of air that Shirou had been alerted that the spell was in a optimized but incomplete state and that there was a possibility that great gains could be made to the results of the spell by simply improving and refining it into a far superior version.

The young Emiya, having not been educated in the ways of a traditional Magus, had placed a focus on this, looking to see what the ordinary Magus would have missed out in ignoring this simple spell. Kiritsugu had always told Shirou that with the decline of Mystery and subsequently Thaumaturgy, the regular Magus had perhaps not been able to advance as much as they should be able to due to having a mindset too limited. Shirou had embraced the Elder Emiya's advice and had been maybe too invested in researching at times. He was still advancing in every aspect of his magecraft however and so whatever he was doing must work to some extent and he had not faced diminishing returns yet.

* * *

Shirou Emiya had been frustrated. The source of his frustration? It was regarding his attempts at refining and improving the spell of Graduation Air. He had run into a block recently and he had no idea how to get out of the block. He simply did not know enough about magecraft to recognize how one would go about improving and refining an already established spell.

What was important was that he first had a concrete objective in mind when refining the spell. After all, what was the use of improving a spell when one failed to consider what improvements should be made? He had decided to focus on the flaws of Graduation Air in its current iteration. The biggest problem was that Graduation Air created an object out of air. It was not a real object but rather a facsimile of one.

It was due to this that the sentient spirit of the World had recognized the objects made from Graduation Air as an inconsistency, seeking to correct this error in the World. As such, as long as the Magus casting the spell had ceased to provide more magical energy to the object created, the object would eventually fade away after a short period of time.

There were ways to extend this period of course, the more concrete the structure of the object created, the more specific the creation of the object and the more materials in which one visualized the object to be made with, the illusion of the object made by Graduation Air would last longer and be more stable.

Even with this extension of the life of the projected item, it was still horrendously inefficient. Ignoring the basic inefficient cost in magical energy, the mental effort required had made this skill not worth it for many Magi across the world.

The nail in the coffin for the irrelevance of the spell was the strength of the object projected. The strength of the object was only ever as strong as it was originally pictured to be. With the magical energy used in creating such a weak object, a Magus could have simply used Reinforcement to make an existing object much stronger.

This were the set of goals that Shirou had aimed to accomplish by improving the spells. He wanted to make the object stronger and more permanent. For the time being however, he had to have a better grounding in magecraft before starting on his project. He had to practice on other aspects of magecraft.

He had alternatives. Material Transmutation was a trio of skills anyway. He had decided to work more on the other aspects. Reinforcement and alteration. Reinforcement was the hardest skill of the trio and had required the most practice. Fortunately, Shirou had a lot of time to practice. It was through this continuous practice of the spells that he already knew that he had gotten a breakthrough of some sorts in his magecraft.

Shirou had found out slowly as he used structural analysis more regularly that he was able to get more information out of the objects he had analyzed. As opposed to simply getting an image of the inner constructs and workings of the objects as well as the base composition of the object, Shirou was now able to get the history of the object as well as the ways the object was used. It was not all sunshine and rainbows however, it was quite a pain trying to get more information out of an object, apart from lengthening the spell time, it had also cost a lot more magical energy just to force the object to provide more information.

Due to Structural Analysis being essentially the cheapest spell in Thaumaturgy with regards to the cost of magical energy, the end result was still negligible but Shirou felt that when analyzing an object with a long or complicated history, the cost may increase at an exponential level.

It was surprising when on a regular day Kiritsugu had announced that he was to go on a long business trip to Germany for a month. This was a rather weird occurrence to Shirou. While Kiritsugu had gotten a job recently after making sure Shirou was settled after the fire, there were no indications that he was now a businessman.

Shirou had not thought too much one way or another about the business trip. He was mostly apathetic to the situation but he was surprised somehow. Kiritsugu had been looking out for Shirou since the fire and while Shirou had gotten most of his bearings, he would think Kiritsugu would have some reservations.

Quite Surprisingly, on the second day of his father's trip, Shirou was visited by Raiga Fujimura.

"Eh? Old man Fujimura, why are you here? You do know that Kiritsugu has been on a business trip and wouldn't be back for a month, right?"

"Ah… Shirou, your father had thought you would be bored of being cooped up at home while he is on his trip. Would you be so kind as to accompany this old man on a trip to a museum?"

Shirou Emiya agreed to the trip. So, this was what his father had arranged for him when he was out on the business trip. Raiga was undoubtedly here to look out for him on his father's behest. It was expected the Taiga would show up at some point as well. All he hoped was that this would be an eventful trip.

* * *

Shirou Emiya had been feeling strangely once he had stepped into the museum…

The museum had been conducting an exclusive event in which only important and influential figures had been invited. Many famous swords and works of craftsmanship were on display. Shirou had been excited as he always somehow had an interest in swords, even at his most empty parts of his life after Kiritsugu's adoption, he had felt this attraction to swords ever since he had first saw one on a television show. He had not had any idea why he had such an obsession with swords but he attributed that to his gender and rationalized that this must have been some subconscious fascination carried on from his life before the fire.

Before this museum trip, after his breakthrough in the realm of structural analysis, Shirou had mastered the spell to a greater level through the continuous use of the spell. He was now able to analyze anything even without touching the object in question. He could find out whatever he wanted by sight alone. He would not disregard his father's warnings about the usage of magecraft in secrecy again and begin discreetly analysing each and every sword on display in the museum.

Shirou was fascinated about the swords that had been analyzed. All of them were of a superior quality and make such that each and every sword on display could be undoubtedly called a work of art. Many swords on display had a rather sad history of spending most of their time as an art piece, spending decades to centuries on display without being used even once.

Shirou had gotten weirdly indignant on behalf of the swords, using his spell had allowed Shirou to experience the lives of the swords being full of ceremony and ceremony, over and over again. Each of the swords so well forged for war had been perverted in their reasons of existence into more of a ceremonial role. Shirou had thought that this was a massive pity, having somehow been able to witness the exact history of every sword at a glance, up till its forging methods, many of those swords had been forged exquisitely but very few ever saw action.

He understood this however, as well crafted as the swords were, the forging methods and materials available several hundred years ago were below par and it was nigh impossible for a sword made centuries to survive battle intact. As such even the swords that had drew blood had been kept away after gaining their fame and languished away, no longer in use. Other swords were broken and only had a use as a display piece.

Nevertheless, Shirou had quite enjoyed the experience and right as he was about to join up back with the old man Raiga, he had felt a strange compulsion, dragging him in the direction of a room out of the way. Shirou tried to resist, but nonetheless followed the instruction to a back room kept discreetly out of the way with only selected guests surrounding a glass case on a table guarded by a large squadron of guards, being able to get a peek at the sword, Shirou it looked rather surprisingly plain with a dark grey or black blade of around seventy and a half centimeters with a larger width and thrusting edge.

While the sword was still undoubtedly among the best swords crafted that he had seen today, it had looked more mundane due to lacking any wavy or interesting patterns, signature characteristics of the swords one would find to be most valuable. It did seem like a sword of an older age however, being estimated by Shirou to be made in the late thirteenth century.

Shirou was rather startled that his ability in structural analysis to improve until now he was able to suddenly possess an eye of judging swords and their quality and make but had chalked it up to using structural analysis on the many swords today and gaining vast knowledge on their forging methods.

Looking to see what was so fascinating about the sword on display before getting spotted by the guards for not being invited to the room, Shirou activated Structural Grasping and looked at the sword that had been so mysteriously kept out of the way from the public eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors notes:
> 
> The first half of the Chapter is from Kiritsugu's POV This is meant to showcase his thoughts about Shirou, the boy he had adopted after a year of living with him.
> 
> The rest of this portion is just more details about Shirou's magecraft as well as his latent potential and how he had come to learn magecraft as well as his initial progress in magecraft.
> 
> We see what would be a major difference from this Shirou to the one in Canon. This Shirou has a true obsession with magecraft and wanting to learn more. This will be what will cause the deviation of skills from this Shirou to the one in canon.
> 
> Due to this Shirou possessing an Origin of Conceptualization, he has an instinct towards spells, this will be quite an important thing to take note of later on. Currently, all the benefit that this ability provides lies in the realms of giving Shirou an extra instinct when understanding magecraft as well as helping him break down spells to what they are at its very core, allowing for better understanding and skill in carrying out spells. His instincts also allow him to know that the spell of Graduation Air can be developed on.
> 
> A thing to note is that the prime cause for the reason Shirou is so weak in Thaumaturgy in canon is due to him not using his twenty-seven magical circuits, reducing them to circuits of low quality from disuse. This Shirou, due to having a better instinct with regards to magecraft, had not made the mistake of converting his nerves into magical circuits but rather used the natural circuits that he had already possessed. This is the key crux in which allowed him to be able to quickly master the basics of structural grasping as well as material transmutation, this will of course greatly benefit our protagonist later.
> 
> It is important to place the museum visit as a important arc with regards to the beginning of the story. This visit is able to be able greatly advance Shirou's future progress in tracing due to having knowledge of more manufacturing processes and disregarding legends, Japan is essential the best country with regards to the base craftsmanship of swords, relying less on 'legends' but with the most famous swords being the best crafted swords ever to be made.


	3. A Ripple of Change, Part 2

_A man, dressed up in clothes made up of cheap cloth was sweating, sitting on a wooden bench with scorch marks pasted everywhere without a distinct pattern or purpose… The man was surrounded with tools of every sort, hammers of different mass and use laid haphazardly around on tables and on the floor. Around the man given a place of honor were a group of swords, made with the highest quality of metals, with the best craftsmanship, awaiting a time where they would be inserted into a grip. They were humble swords, swords of the greatest beauty without any visible signature or clue that they were not of divine make. Nearby was a furnace, with the hottest of fires burning, while not the most desirable place to be, there was no questioned that it was constantly used, iron rods were inside, heating up, desiring for the time where they would be transformed into something…more…_

_Steel, of the highest of purity, containing the perfect balance was combined, from the most delicate layer of soft steel, surrounded by steel of the increasingly robust make, in steady layers, building up to become an unbreakable sword, resulting in the most resilient of weapons..._

_Seven layers, repeatedly quenched, cooled and heated. Hammered constantly, creating a rhythm resulting in a metal melody..._

_The sharpest edge… the hardest make… the most desirable flex… The sword possessed an otherworldly aura, able to become a legend simply from its craftsmanship, simply from its quality, simply for its effectiveness at what it was made to do..._

_The man...no...blacksmith...had made several hundred more metal art pieces, most would be lost, some would remain, all would be legendary..._

_One of the swords would be different however, gaining a superior status not just from its maker but also gaining and playing a role in the creation of a unique legend..._

_The legend of the Sword Saint..._

* * *

_The sword spent its first few hundred years being passed around, decades at a time, it had dozens of wielders, all either royalty or military dictators of prominent provinces, it had been wielded by powerful and talented swordsmen, it had been wielded by mediocre sons of nobles, it had been involved in dozens of conflicts, used constantly._

_It retained its edge, every time the sword was swung, it cut. It bit into flesh, it bit into bone and it shattered other swords. It remained as sturdy as it ever was, never bending permanently, never being chipped, remaining flawless as ever._

_It had carved out a legend on its own, with its wielders becoming nameless and lost to history. After the first few centuries. It had gained a rival with others of its make against swords of great but ultimately inferior craftsmanship._

_Cursed swords they called them, cutting indiscriminately, drawing blood every time they were drawn from their scabbards. They were called Demonic swords too, driving their wielders into madness._

_The sword had no sentience, but if it did it would question._

" _Haven't I done the same? Haven't I cut everything I was pointed at? Haven't I caused uncountable deaths?"_

_As great as the sword was, as divine as its wielders assumed it may be, it was still a sword, unquestioning, continuing to be as lethal and worthwhile as it was made to be, not to question its purpose, but to carry out its purpose._

_Somewhere along the line, it had gained reputation as a sword with minor holy qualities, while its rival had retained its cursed status. All from tales of the common folk, nothing but faith in the stories known by every peasant presenting it with a mystery, raising it to greater heights._

_The Sword was still prominent however, having not been held by a legend greater than itself. That was all due to change however as it made its way through nobles to a loyal vassal swordsman, the father of its true owner..._

* * *

_The Sword was passed down from father to son. The father, a local swordsman with a legend accompanying had passed down its teachings to its owner, tutoring its owner up to a young age of seven, where the father passed away, relived that his teachings had been inherited by a worthy individual._

_The father had been a formidable swordsman, creating his own school of swordsmanship as well as winning numerous duels, eventually he won a duel containing a trio of bouts against another founder of a school of swordsmanship. He won a duo of bouts, emboldening the local military dictator with the title of 'Shogun' to grant the father the title of being 'unrivaled under the sun'. This started a rivalry among the different schools of swordsmanship._

_The son had continued his training in the ways of the sword in a local temple under his uncle. He had deemed his training sufficient and had set off to travel in order to further hone his art. At a nearby town, he had spotted a public challenge set by a local swordsman for a duel. Even at the age of thirteen, the owner of the sword, had been self-assured, possessing great faith in his skills and wrote his name down._

_The challenge had been accepted by the local swordsman, a fit man in his twenties. His uncle had been informed of the duel and was worried on behalf of the owner of the sword and had rushed to stop the match, arriving on the day of the duel. The uncle had begged the swordsman on behalf of his nephew, asking for forgiveness having feared for the safety of his nephew due to his young age._

_The sword had still not seen action under its owner however, having been sheathed while its owner had produced a quarterstaff and charged at the local swordsman, the young prodigy had quickly concluded that the local swordsman was rather arrogant and as a challenge to himself had been able to rapidly disarm the local swordsman without taunting or taking advantage of his weakness in character. The arrogant swordsman was also a combat maniac, quickly getting up and charged at the owner of the sword. The thirteen-year-old took the situation in stride and was forced to beat the swordsman to death with the quarterstaff in order to end the conflict._

_The owner of the sword had been forced to return to the temple and had resided there until his mid-teens where he left his possessions with his family and set out back on his travels… The young prodigy had spent his first-year of his travels challenging sword experts from different schools of swordplay._

_He was recalled in his second year to serve in his father's combat battalion in which the young swordsman fought in several battles and assaults eventually ending the war having been forced to retreat by his lord. Having been responsible for countless deaths, the young prodigy had gained valuable combat experience from the war._

_After the war, the young swordsman had secluded himself on a nearby mountain, spending half a decade refining his swordplay and developing a new sword style developed from his experiences. Upon re-entering civilization, such was the skill of the owner of the sword that even having just reached the age his second decade of life, he might as well had been unparalleled with no individual ever developing the level of skill required to even pose a minor threat to the gifted swordsman._

_The first task he set out to do was to arrive at the capital and challenge the rival school of swordplay that his father defeated. The School was one of the most prominent schools in swordplay, having been founded by eight different gifted martial artists, combining the best of their craft into the teachings of a single school._

_The swordsman initially challenged the master of the school, conducting a duel in which feeling a bout of mischievousness arrived late to the duel, angering the master. Through an intense but one-sided bout, the swordsman stuck true and crippled the master's shoulder, knocking him out... The next duel was against the brother of the master who was incensed on his brother's behalf. The brother had arrived armed with a steel bow staff with a greater reach. The duel ended the same way, with the swordsman arriving late and easily defeating the brother by disarming him. Forcing him to abide to his personal code and retire his position._

_The new head of the school of swordsmanship had issued another challenge, this time accompanied with a squadron of archers, musketeers and swordsmen... With the debut of his new school of swordsmanship based around dual wielding, the owner of the sword arrived early, assaulting the gathered force. The undefeated swordsman was using both the sword and a newer primary weapon with a greater reach to fend off the larger groups of swordsmen easily at a time massacring the forces and killing the last heir of the sword School, thus ending the line of teachings._

_The swordsman had gained a reputation admired throughout the country at this point and had set out to attempt to find someone who could stand up to his skill. While the swordsman had still kept the legendary sword with him, the sword would never henceforth be drawn in the life of the swordsman for he had reached a new realm of swordsmanship, only ever using a wooden katana or bokken, to duel, such was his prowess that he did not care the tool in which he used to compete, only the amount of skill in which he deigned to use._

_He had continued to be undefeated with over sixty duels before the age of thirty, not one opponent having the ability to force him to draw his true sword… He had met a friend, a vassal of a major lord who requested for the Swordsman to duel a man known as the demon of the western provinces. Much was known about his opponent. The swordsman was excited to duel upon hearing the skill of opponent to be great enough such that he was able to cut and bring down a flying swallow at full speed. The rival swordsman was said to have reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship by refining his skill and movements so as to bring his efficiency to greater heights than there ever was._

_The duel was scheduled to be conducted on a deserted island. The Swordsman had arrived by rowing a small raft and had timed his arrival perfectly so as to allow for a possibility of a return trip to solely rely on the currents of the sea to bring him back. Shortly before the duel, the Swordsman had carved a bokken or an imitation of one with the remains of the oar used to row the raft. While slightly spent from rowing the raft, the Swordsman nonetheless carried out the duel with crafted bokken with the rival legend._

_The duel had been what the swordsman had been promised with the skill of the rival legend indeed being the greatest challenge the swordsman had ever been faced with in his life. The bout would not be described as duel being carried out by mortals; such was the mutual skills of each of the parties involved. The swordsman had even been presented with the daunting prospect of blocking a strike from the signature move of his rival, the strike and execution of the stroke was so skilled, it had managed to cut into the realm of gods and carry out three attacks at once. Even tired, even armed with just a wooden bokken, such was the skill of the undefeated swordsman that he was able to block the attack that by all rights was could not be blocked or defended against. It had turned out that even as confident and justifiably arrogant that the undefeated swordsman was, he had in fact underestimated his skill and had still defeated and vanquished his rival in time to return to the raft and ride the currents back to the mainland._

_This was the sadly the peak of the adventure of the now titled sword saint, having to know no equal. Having participated in countless more duels, taught numerous disciples and having mastered more weapon practices even with throwing objects. The sword saint spent the later three decades of his life pursuing his own interests, eventually also becoming an expert artist, sculptor, calligrapher and architect._

_His disciples would be the founder of numerous martial arts Schools while many monuments would also be dedicated to him, advancing his legend... At the end of his life, he had written down his teachings in several scrolls and books, his teachings of philosophy, strategy and the arts would continue to be valued greatly even in the modern era but his teachings in swordplay would know no equal and yet no student of the arts or any other swordsman would ever come close to a slither of his abilities._

_He had passed away peacefully, the legendary sword held securely on his belt, his longer sidearm at his side, holding a cane in a carefree posture. He was greatly respected in the minds of the people, with a private tomb located on the side of a mountain and many more monuments being dedicated to him._

_The sword would be passed down among royalty, having gained a greater legend, it would be used on occasion in conflicts, still retaining its perfect properties, the sword eventually would be classified as a national treasure of Japan._

_The sword would be one of the rare swords made by the blacksmith not to have been lost through the passage of time, having been easily the most famous sword made by the blacksmith._

_The legend of the sword saint had easily overshadowed the great legend regarding the sword, eventually even bestowing upon the nameless but unparalleled sword with the same name as its owner, the unparalleled sword saint._

_The sword had never known a greater swordsman and the swordsman had never known a greater sword with its quality. The sword had been forgotten to be nameless by history, with it being only known by the name of its wielder, both having carved out a great legend…_

_Musashi Masamune_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> The content of this chapter is basically around what Shirou saw when structural analysing the sword in the museum. The flow of the chapter is largely based around the requirements to perfectly trace an object, starting with its make and eventually going down to all the experiences.
> 
> In this chapter, I wanted to facilitate a major change with regards to the style of fighting by Shirou Emiya, the weapon both he and archer chooses, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye or kanshou and bakuya reflects the mentality of Shirou and Archer to a frightening degree.
> 
> As such, while I want to show a difference by changing my Shirou's main weapon, I wanted to also reflect some of his original path so I chose this legend of the Masamune sword regardless of the fact that whether it was owned by Miyamoto Musashi is greatly debated in real life.
> 
> I had wanted to choose a Masamune sword as none of the swords have been mentioned in any of the Type-moon releases and it provides a rather interesting contrast as by all accounts, Masamune is rather humble and has no special branding on any of his swords with the exception of the select few, rather reducing them to nameless swords with the most famous swords being named after their wielders.
> 
> While Shirou has been all but confirmed to be muramasa's descendent, this also isn't canon Shirou so that doesn't really factor in.
> 
> I had decided on Musashi as the actual design seemed to be the most discreet of the remaining Masamune Swords as well as the legend surrounding it.
> 
> Any other sword would made by Masamune would still be a noble phantasm of a higher rank than the twin married swords but having this legend attached to it brings in an interesting prospect to write.
> 
> Shirou can replicate skills from swordplay used by the owners but he will have the greatest compatibility with himself. Nothing has said that Shirou would not be able to practice from the swordplay he replicates and adapt the legendary swordplay into one more befitting of his own self. Shirou just somehow isn't very interested in swords in canon.
> 
> I made quite a few fascinating literary choices in this chapter as you can see the language starting to prioritise Musashi instead of the sword more and more which reflects the legend of the wielder overshadowing the legend of the sword. Also I feel that the character of Musashi reflects what I want the more human side of Shirou to be like as he does what he sets out to do, which his purpose is becoming undefeated and then pursues other interests for his own enjoyment which is contrary to the self-sacrificing Shirou on the path to being a Hero and harming himself for the sake of others.
> 
> Shirou can still have a noble path, but he just won't be so stupidly self-sacrificing which he still is to an extent even if he develops a healthier ideology after UBW.
> 
> Keep in mind that this Miyamoto Musashi bears no relation the fem Miyamoto Musashi in fate. This is the real Miyamoto Musashi in the universe of Sasaki Kojirou which relating to the legend of real life, easily defeats Kojirou even just with a bokken/wooden sword...Yes...his swordsmanship is that overpowered.
> 
> Also here are the stats of Musashi Masamune, keep in mind that the legend of this sword is based upon the skill of the wielder and the rank of this sword is based upon its real legend in which it is one of the best crafted swords ever. As such, it's a highly ranked noble phantasm with only unique techniques for different wielders. The rank of the sword is solely based on its craftsmanship. It doesn't actually have death beams.
> 
> Noble Phantasm
> 
> Musashi Masamune (Unparalleled Sword of the unparalleled Sword Saint)
> 
> Type: Anti-Unit
> 
> Rank: A
> 
> Range: 1
> 
> Maximum amount of Targets: 1


	4. A Ripple of Change, Part 3

"Shirou! Shirou! Are you okay…? "

Shirou felt himself being shaken harshly, forcing him out of the vision that he had just experienced.

_What… what… exactly was that…vision?..._

_Did… did I actually get a vision of the history of the sword? That… was weird. I had not spent anywhere near as much magical energy as I should have in order to get the full history of that sword…_

_I had only stored enough energy to get a glimpse of the significance of the sword, I had not forced the spell with magical energy to provide me with the full history of the sword… It was effortless, like the history, the legend of the sword wanted me to know it. But that couldn't be, the sword has not gained sentience, either through forging or legends… but it was like I owned the sword, that I created the history of the sword… the sword felt like it belonged to me… it was almost like I was Miyamoto Musashi…_

Shirou felt his body being turned around, lifting his head, he gazed upon the visage of the old man Raiga. The Yakuza boss had a questioning look on his face, as though wondering what he was thinking.

"Shirou, how did you get here? I was about to ask you to come here with me, it was lucky that we were invited to be here too, you would have been in considerable trouble if you were caught here alone."

"Hey, old man Raiga… what is so special about this sword that it has to be guarded so securely?" Shirou inquired, not quite trusting his vision of swords history that he had gained upon the weird result from structural grasping. He had also wanted a confirmation that he was not hallucinating, the doctors did say that there would be mental scars left from the fire after all…

"Ah… Shirou, that is a Masamune sword, one of the best swords ever forged… legend says that this particular sword was owned by the greatest swordsman who ever lived. Miyamoto Musashi, who later had his name associated with this sword."

"You know… back in my day when I was still a boy, my mother had read me stories based on his legend, I had wanted to be a samurai when I was ten…" Raiga continued, gaining a strange look of remembrance.

Raiga had then held Shirou's hand and waited for the crowd around the sword to clear up, not wanting Shirou to be lost again.

Raiga had also felt a tingle of excitement in his old and weary bones, he was rather curious and fascinated to have the opportunity to gaze upon the visage of the sword which had once occupied his childhood fantasies.

Looking at Shirous expression of awe upon looking at the sword, Raiga had assumed that Shirou must have had stories told to him about the sword, holding the same respect and awe that Raiga had possessed about the legendary sword. He might have had a harsh life so far, but he was still a boy at a young age. It was natural for him to be fascinated by swords.

Raiga had considered it a lucky happenstance of fate that one of his business partners had a conflict in schedule and had passed the special visitor passes to him, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to view one of Japan's national treasures.

Shirou glanced upon the sword, admiringly. He observed some diagrams and informational materials at the side of the booth that depicted and given a detailed explanation on the history and legend of the sword. He collaborated the knowledge portrayed with his version of the story and had grasped that the version of the swords history that he had gotten from the vision was more detailed. Nonetheless, what was astonishing was that Shirou's history of the sword was completely accurate from the sparse details that had been provided.

After viewing the gift shop of the museum and at the end of the trip, Shirou looked back upon the majestic entrance of the museum. He glanced upward and whispered softly in reverence the name of the sword that had impacted him and provided him with the biggest eye-opener of the day...

"Musashi Masamune…"

* * *

Shirou would spend the rest of the week at home, reheating food for meals. He would have cooked with his now above average skills at cooking but he had found himself unable to concentrate.

Taiga had arrived every evening for dinner to accompany Shirou. Shirou would be found lost in his thoughts, preoccupied with an expression that any young boy should not have the ability to possess. It was rather similar to the look Shirou had adopted the first few months after his adoption.

Taiga, being her usual boisterous unobservant self, had not noticed the difference in Shirou's demeanor.

It was during kendo practice, that Taiga was surprised, looking upon Shirou utilizing a different form, with oddly skilled movements and calmer, more graceful attacks, yet with a brutal efficiency contrary to the forms he was taught by both Kiritsugu and her.

Shirou had gained a noticeable increase in skill and efficiency in swordplay, Taiga had considered Shirou to be rather gifted in the art of kendo but had not expected that he would be able to gain such an increase in skills out of nowhere. Taiga would have considered Shirou not using the styles that she had taught him to be a snub but whatever Shirou was using was truly working for him.

Taiga was surprised to have so much trouble against a boy not yet a decade old, every offensive move that she had made was not so much blocked but redirected, every defending stroke she would be forced to make was due to straightforward thrusts and strokes, not swung especially hard nor fast, but rather effectively at angles that were hard to block and hard to counter.

The movements made by Shirou were not wasteful, the strokes were economical, lacking the artistic flourish that had taken up much of modern swordplay. This had provided Shirou a considerable advantage by using the flaws created by the emphasis on grace to his own advantage.

It was to her inner shame that Taiga had to use her advantage in size and strength in order to disarm Shirou.

"Ne? Shirou… where did you learn such a sword style? I don't think that this style of swordsmanship is taught anywhere?" Taiga questioned, astounded by the progress of her surrogate brother in her favorite form of stress relief. She had felt rather confident in her skills in kendo after all, for she was praised as a young prodigy in kendo.

"Erm… I… ah… learnt it in a book. Yes. I saw this in a book containing a diagram on sword forms on the day old man Raiga brought me to the museum convention on swords… Apparently this is a long-forgotten sword form that is not used due to modern teachings being more focused on exercise and looking pretty as well as being non-lethal." Shirou lied, finding a convenient excuse in order to avoid explaining any more to his quirky sister.

Shirou was also not too sure about his increase in skills. He recognized whose skills he was using of course but he had not a clue as to how he had managed to replicate the skills. He would get to the bottom of this mysterious increase in skills of course but he had to first avoid suspicion from his adopted sister. She would not leave him alone to his discoveries if she had thought that there was something wrong with Shirou.

In the meantime, even if the cause of the mysterious replication of the sword skills were not found by Shirou. He had found an alternative sword form from what he had previously knew. More than that however, he had found that this sword form appeared to suit him rather well. He was rather excited to incorporate this form of swordplay into his repertoire when practicing.

* * *

Shirou had spent the rest of the month mostly alone, using structural analysis and reanalyzing every single object in the house, searching for a catalyst for the phenomenon that had caused the history of the legendary sword to flow into him.

While Shirou had seemed to reach another level in structural analysis, being able to force more information out of objects with far less magical energy used, he add experienced an oddity, in which he was able to get more information out of objects that possessed sharp points and instinctively know the full history of objects such as knives and practice swords that his father possessed.

Shirou, being rather inquisitive, had begun snooping around the house, looking for any object that he may have missed the first go around, as well as wanting for more sophisticated objects for him to be able to test the extent of and discover more about his new stage of structural analysis.

Shirou had gotten a breakthrough on one of the last days of Kiritsugu's 'business' trip when he had recalled his first meeting with Raiga Fujimura and reopened the garage. He had first began analyzing the tools and other materials belonging to the garage and had not been able to discover anything interesting or anything that would also stress the new level of progress that he had attained in structural analysis.

It was at this point where he decided to have a look at the sports bike that Kiritsugu possessed but had not used as far as Shirou remembered. Shirou was rather puzzled, why would Kiritsugu leave a sports bike that Shirou had known to be a special model with racing track modifications around without using it? Shirou thought it unlikely that Kiritsugu lacked qualifications for riding bikes, he had seen Kiritsugu's license before, nor was it likely that Kiritsugu possessed a phobia of riding bikes. That just didn't seem like Kiritsugu to have such a simple fear.

When analysing the bike, Shirou had made sure to gather a larger amount of mana, as he assumed that the forcing a detailed history out of the bike may require more magical energy.

What Shirou had discovered from analyzing the history of the motorbike was that it was rather new. It was less than half a decade old and only one owner ever used the bike and for a short period of less than a month. The user of the bike was a woman in which Shirou had never known before, she possessed a lithe figure, blonde hair and green eyes.

In the small handful of events that Shirou had forced out of the history of the bike, the woman possessed an ethereal beauty, was extremely graceful and had a dominant aura of authority, making it likely that she was an important figure. She was also likely extremely skilled in riding and a daredevil, having been able to get a glimpse on a couple of stunts made by the lady who previously had possession of the bike.

There was not more that he could get out of the bike. Every owner that had interacted with the bike had not spent enough time with the bike in order for the Shirou to derive more information out of the analysis of the bike.

Shirou was quite bewildered about the strange figure that he had gained a glimpse from a sensation through the spell but had not deigned much thought on the history of the bike for there was something else that had taken Shirou's attention. It was near the bike where Shirou had found what seemed like a secret compartment in the ground, it was held with a handle by a thick piece of concrete which was atypical for the construction of the house, having been built with a focus on Asian architecture.

Shirou pulled on the handle and was unsuccessful at lifting the piece of concrete up… He used both his hands and pulled to the limits of his ability but to no avail, unable to lift and open the compartment.

Shirou had an idea, using reinforcement carefully to be able to greatly enhance his strength over human limits especially for a young boy. Inwardly shirou was relieved that he had continued to practice reinforcement repeatedly even after mastering the basics quickly. This time shirou was able to lift up the structure and had found a large box inside.

Shirou pulled the box up and opened it, it was filled with bullets as well as a couple of guns, it had also contained some different objects such as metal wires and grenades, there was also a strangely shiny dagger in the box.

Shirou was perplexed, why would his father have use of such weapons?... Why would his father hide these objects out of the way?... Was this related to how his father would have been able to make an acquaintance of Raiga Fujimura?... Was his father in the Yakuza?...

Shirou had decided to find out the answers himself by using structural analysis on the objects, Shirou had been able to determine that the objects in the box were used prior to his adoption but had been unable to determine more out of the objects due to the fact that the objects were strangely resistant to his magecraft such that even when using a more significant amount of magical energy, he was incapable of determining much more.

Shirou had not had much interaction with objects regarding magecraft but he had felt that it would be a reasonable theory that the objects were enhanced by magecraft or somehow enchanted to be resistant to magecraft.

Shirou had just reached the final object that he had not analyzed and had decided to use structural analysis on the dagger. Even before using structural analysis, he had been able to determine by eyesight alone that the dagger was sharp and well made but even with it being made out of silver, a metal that signified wealth, it was still a practical weapon and had been well used in its history.

* * *

_The dagger was made with a silver alloy of high purity, it was made in a foundry but produced in large numbers. It was like a novelty item. It had possessed large quantities of silver but it was still a very high-quality knife and not simply a showpiece. Every manufacturing process was made by machines, stamped, hardened and polished._

_It was checked for quality at the final check and had been used for export. It was first purchased by the church and widely distributed to several priests. It had then been given to a girl named Shirley, and was then passed to Kiritsugu several decades ago. It had been regularly by Kiritsugu Emiya until several years ago where it was stored in the box._

_The dagger was used primarily as a utility tool, cutting, slicing as well as prying open locks. With its sharp edge and durability, it was constantly used as the most reliable tool in many situations._

_The condition of the dagger reflected its primary owner, it was polished and sharpened regularly, the owner never wanting a blunt knife just in case the situation required for the knife to be used. It was used effectively as a tool, its owner possessing no opinion for the knife, aside from maintaining it so that it was able to perform its required purpose to the best._

_The owner was cold, brutal and efficient, using the tool as an accomplice to make traps. The knife was also used on occasion used to draw blood to perform its role as a dagger._

_The first time it was passed down and used, it had drawn blood, it had been used as both a tool of salvation and betrayal. It had been one of the first situations in which Kiritsugu had taken a knife._

_It had signified Kiritsugu's transition into his new life and to what would be his lifelong career._

_It accompanied its owner in dozens of assassinations, it being one of the more useful tools as a trump card by Kiritsugu, being able to take advantage of the controversial tactics of using technology against mages in order to achieve its objective._

_Its owner had an admirable dream, every death and every action in which the dagger was used for was to provide for a better future for humanity. Its owner hardened his heart and acted like a machine in order to achieve a utopia, a goal. The goal was eventually lost after a traumatic incident._

_The dagger was eventually put away with the rest of the tools, its owner spending his time, looking back on his actions and mistakes, not regretting, but with a hope that was lost, a hope that was never regained, its owner becoming what he had forced himself to be, an empty existence._

* * *

Shirou blinked… surprised at what he had analyzed from the dagger, the fact that the history being gained from structural analysis thus proving his conjuncture about the phenomenon regarding his skills with the sword was thrown to the wayside.

Due to the dagger not constantly being with its owner, there were many blanks in between the events of the history that Shirou had gotten from the dagger. However even with the blanks in between the events that Shirou had seen, he was able to get an idea of the life of his father.

It had appeared that his father was apparently an assassin, a hunter tasked by the Magus Association in order to hunt down rogue magi that conduct immoral actions deemed a danger by the association.

Shirou had not considered the fact that his father was not the regular Magus, but it had made sense when comparing the new information gained with the feeling Shirou had that his father was oddly empty.

Kiritsugu would always hide his true self away from Shirou of course, however Shirou had still occasionally spotted the look of sadness and depression that his father possessed when he assumed that Shirou was not looking. If Shirou was less observant, or denser it would have been less apparent that his father was not completely who he portrayed as.

Shirou reflected on the information he gleamed from the dagger, it was all that could be gained from the dagger, especially since he maintained physical contact, there was nothing more that was relevant that could be gleamed from structural analysis.

He re-evaluated his thoughts and opinions on his father. He was conflicted, it had seemed that despite what his father had done and how a third party may determine them to be, his father had nonetheless done it with a purpose, his father had forced the actions and consequences on himself, sacrificing his mental state in the name of justice, in the purpose of becoming a hero of justice, even if he was to remain hated, even if he was to remain unknown.

Shirou was undecided as well as conflicted upon knowing the nature of his father, he had however made a vital conclusion. His father was empty but he had moved with a purpose, a determination…

Shirou had felt empty ever since the fire, he had lost his prior memories but he had nothing to fill that void, he had his hobbies and interests, but Shirou had wanted to experience more… There was an inner voice within Shirou that mentioned that it was vital for Shirou to pursue a purpose, an ideal… Exhausted by the revelations of the day, Shirou had decided to turn in and determine whether to confront his father upon his return from the trip…

Kiritsugu had returned from Germany, he had looked rather haggard and defeated. It was peculiar Shirou thought, his father must have undergone something truly sorrowful in other to reduce his normally strong-willed father to such despondency.

Shirou had considered bringing up his findings with his father but refrained, furthermore, he was not yet sure where he stood with his father and how he felt about his father's path. He supposed that this had not changed much about his evaluation of his fathers' character, it was in the past and was a phase the Kiritsugu looked like he wished to forget. Furthermore, he had always attempted to be a good father figure to Shirou.

Regardless, Shirou had felt quite concerned on behalf of his father, he had tried to think up on methods that could help to get his father out of his slump but he was still a young boy without much experience, not knowing the correct emotional sensitivity in which he should approach the situation in order to achieve the results most suitable to help his father…

Fortunately, there was a convenient distraction which arrived, compelling both Emiya's to forget their thoughts at the moment…

"Kiritsugu!... is it time for my lesson?" Taiga shouted, entering the house abruptly.

Shirou was startled, Kiritsugu had just arrived back home less than half a day ago and Taiga had somehow been informed that his father had returned.

Shirou had not yet figured out the odd fixation that Taiga had for his father, it had seemed that she had gained an immense interest in learning English ever since his father had first started teaching her the popular language on a whim.

Shirou, distracted, had decided to head into the shed where he would practice his magecraft in improving projection, it was better not to get caught up in the brand of madness that described Fujimura Taiga…

Besides, it would be rather cool if he was able to create a projection that recreated the Musashi Masamune…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors notes:
> 
> This chapter concludes the first arc with a small timeskip next chapter. Basically this chapter is just essential for laying out and advancing the plot a bit as well as describing Shirou's advancement in skills.
> 
> Shirou confirms his knowledge of his first noble phantasm, starts accumulating improvements in swordsmanship which will be an essential skill I need to show Shirou developing when the Holy Grail War comes around, he also gets a major Revelation about Kiritsugu's past.
> 
> Regarding Taiga's sparring performance against Shirou, the reason she has so much trouble is due to the style of swordsmanship rather than anything else, while Shirou himself has a bonus talent in learning kendo from Kiritsugu and Taiga due to being a sword incarnation, its due to Musashi's style which is based on no wasted movement which basically means that when sparring with Taiga, his sword will always reach Taiga's first, giving him the advantage in initiative due to modern styles focusing more on aesthetic considerations.
> 
> Also, a focus on Musashi's swordsmanship had always been the effective usage of parrying which gives Shirou a major advantage especially in Kendo sparring. Keep in mind that Shirou is currently under 10 years old and considering that Shirou eventually becomes one of the tallest characters in the nasuverse, I believe that considering his size and this newly gained skill which can be utilized to a decent level due to Shirou already sparring with his father and taiga.
> 
> As such, I feel that Shirou forcing Taiga to use her size and strength advantage to win is based in realism. If Shirou were to face Kiritsugu in kendo, even though Kiritsugu doesn't use swords, since Kiritsugu's instincts are sharp enough, he would still have more trouble facing against Taiga than Shirou.
> 
> Shirou also works more on his Projection and structural analysis. Keep in mind that Shirou will not know the Holy Grail War is happening and thus all the skills he has gained is based on his personal interest in Thaumaturgy and not due to focusing on combat.
> 
> This is why he doesn't have projection down yet since he is not trying to retrace swords he has seen but rather just projecting ordinary objects without taking into account the inner workings, the objects projected are thus hollow and will fall apart. He will start to be able to trace objects once he starts to recreate the Musashi Masamune.
> 
> Also the importance of Musashi Masamune is more on the skills he had gained from analyzing and less on the actual sword itself, the sword is just an excuse for Shirou to have a weapon in the Holy grail war that will hold up against noble phantasms that is not kanshou and Bakuya.
> 
> Aside from being surprised, Shirou doesn't have too much of on opinion on Kiritsugu yet. This is just a year or two after the fire and Shirou is still learning his path, losing all his memories doesn't provide Shirou with an opinion on morality other than the logical considerations.
> 
> Shirou will look at Kiritsugu differently but he doesn't care or particularly feel the need to confront him, he doesn't have a moral code to disagree with Kiritsugu's actions yet and it doesn't really concern him, so still being the eight year old he is, albeit a mature one, he shrugs the revelations off.


	5. The Journey for Providence, Part 1

Shirou charged in, holding his sword in a relaxed manner, he had a loose but secure grip on the sword, not applying too much force such that it would be a hindrance to him.

He thrust his sword multiple times, varying the timings between each thrust of the sword. With each thrust, Shirou aimed the sword at an angle where the glancing blow made by each of the thrusts would be returned in a manner such that he would be able to effectively utilize the momentum of the sword into increasing the force of the next.

His opponent was ready, with a steady stance parrying each and every blow with passion and force hoping to send a message such that every parry made against Shirou's sword would send a jolt of pain up his arm, allowing for a potential disarmament of Shirou's weapon,

Shirou's blows were effective, nullifying the force of the parries. His opponent was unable to keep up against the steady wave of offense, being forced to increase in speed and force to be able to redirect Shirou's thrusts.

Hoping to avoid eventually slipping up against Shirou's wave of attacks, his opponent mustered a heavy force and aimed at Shirou, directly targeting his sword, hoping to be able to overpower and knock the sword out of Shirou's hands.

Shirou was using a one-handed grip instead of using both his hands to hold his sword, as such Shirou would have been caught off guard against the offense made with the more stable grip and came out worse in the engagement after the clanging of the swords slamming against each other.

Fortunately, Shirou had gained an acute instinct through honing his swordplay and had expected it, being able to easily adjust and change his position due to using a more flexible free flowing sword form.

Shirou had redirected the heavy blow with his dominant arm holding the sword, inwardly cringing from the far superior force than what he could muster at the moment.

Fortunately, his opponent had been playing into his hands and performed as Shirou expected, allowing him to transform his opponent's slash into a glancing blow to his sword and leaving his opponent off balance due to overextending.

Smirking, Shirou had twirled his sword in a steady slash at his opponent, returning the favor.

Having delivered an effective blow, Shirou's opponent was forced to jump back in order to avoid being targeted by the sword, losing the benefit of a steady footing, without an opportunity to be able to quickly get back into position.

Frustrated with the strategy that Shirou had utilized, his opponent had decided to go on a furious offense consisting of wide slashes movements telling a story of a beast in rampage. His opponent had hoped to be able to get back the advantaged that she possessed but was denied as Shirou was once again prepared.

Shirou had held his sword coolly, unruffled against the fiery aggression that his opponent was displaying.

He swatted away the blows like flies, his talents in swordplay obvious, handling the physically superior opponent with ease. He quickly spotted an opening, a gap in the furious onslaught that had been meant to defeat Shirou.

He quickly caught an opportunity and slashed his sword at the back of his opponent's blade on a thrust, the force granted by the superior leverage in position allowing for Shirou to quickly disarm his opponent without much fanfare.

Shirou was satisfied. While Shirou was not an arrogant individual, he was always pleased for a win. It had resulted in much of a relief when Taiga had proposed the resolution of arguments on a kendo duel. Shirou had been rather surprised when Taiga had wanted to invite all the children within a square mile and throw an exorbitant party for Shirou's birthday.

Hadn't that woman known that Shirou was antisocial? He had no desire to spend time around anyone, much less strangers on a day that was his birthday.

Shirou inwardly shuddered at having to spend most of the week around other children of his age, he had felt an aversion for children of the same age after being convinced by Taiga to go to the park.

Taiga had said it would be 'fun and educational'. Shirou snorted, trust his naïve self to believe her dastardly lies. Well… it was rather good to get another victory over Taiga, Shirou could have sworn he had seen a vein threatening to burst through his sister's head with every subsequent defeat to the ten-year-old…

* * *

Shirou had been an oddly mature ten-year-old, it had seemed that the events of the fire may have had an impact on that, an outside opinion may have been that it was due to Shirou's fixation on swords and swordplay. Then again, Shirou supposed he would not suffer too much, he had somehow been oddly gifted in subjects consisting of theories such as math and science.

He did not enjoy the subjects but had yet been oddly competent in grasping the concepts quickly. Shirou had chalked that achievement up to his boundless curiosity in trying to master every concept and theory he was aware of.

Inwardly, Shirou had wanted to conduct more experiments on his magecraft, having hounded Kiritsugu to hunt down books on magical theory and convinced him to give him a complete lesson on the principles of bounded fields.

Kiritsugu apparently was an unofficial but undoubtably world class expert with regards to bounded fields, especially in the theoretical aspect on penetrating bounded fields.

Kiritsugu had mentioned that it was better to make sure that the field was airtight and at least notified the owner against everything rather than actively attack all intruders and risk tripping off the intruder and allowing them an opportunity to prove the defenses inadequate.

He had even spent several days teaching Shirou the best ways to set up bounded fields, he had looked strangely exhausted after such a meager use of magecraft.

It had seemed that Kiritsugu was more open to teaching Shirou Thaumaturgy recently, it might have been due to Kiritsugu being exasperated about the fact that Shirou was too absorbed in the magical world to want to live a regular life or Kiritsugu believing that Shirou could handle and survive himself in the cutthroat world of magi especially after the incident of Kiritsugu finding a Noble Phantasm in his shed…

* * *

Shirou had been able to improve the process of Graduation Air. He had gone down a natural path by following what would improve the spell normally. Holding a more detail image of the materials one intended to project and layering them together while keeping in mind an exact structure.

Shirou had simplified this process by inserting the usage of several extra steps into the spell. Fortunately, the Magical Formula of the spell had granted him enough leeway that the spell had still worked. Even better, what he had set out to do was successful.

Shirou had been able split the process into seven steps that delved down to the fact that he would first question the existence of the object and aimed to project the object with a degree of purpose into the world. He would then start holding the basic structure, materials and manufacturing process and skill involved in the process in mind when projecting the object. He would then attempt to provide an artificial history of the object and go through the steps again to ensure perfection.

It was with these steps that Shirou was able to produce a more stable object that was able to last longer, be more sturdy and undergo lesser rejection by Gaia since it was able to fool the mother earth into the sensation that the projected object had been produced naturally rather than through the usage of magecraft.

The breakthrough had come from an experiment on projection in trying to recreate the Musashi Masamune as a showpiece and unintentionally thinking about the full history of the sword from forging till the current day.

Shirou was startled about the sudden disappearance of a large portion of his mana reserves when he realized that he had made a startlingly surprising near perfect recreation of the sword. He was even more astonished when he saw the sword still there a day and a half later.

A dozen days of experimentation later and Shirou had been able to conclude that by instead of simply projecting the sword or a visual of the sword, he had rather recreated the sword in its entirety, making it not just a simple projection but rather recreating the Noble Phantasm from scratch. Shirou later called this superior version of projection magecraft tracing.

The few times Shirou had recreated the legendary sword, he had been spent, spending a large amount of energy compared to a regular European longsword. He had noticed that the sword while a near identical recreation, had not possessed quite near the intense aura of quality that had been emanating from the original.

Shirou had concluded that rather just recreating the workings of the sword, the tracing spell was able to not just remake the sword through the imitation of its materials, but also directly remake the forging methods and the skill involved in the forging of the sword.

Shirou was able to also reinvent the history of every wielder of the sword while tracing the sword, effectively also allowing for a creation or simulation of a completely new timeline for the traced sword, solidifying its faux existence within the world.

Shirou had also been astounded that when using the traced sword, he was also able to replicate the skill of each and every owner that had held the sword.

He was in awe of being able to reproduce the skillful strikes of the sword saint. He had discovered that it had resulted in a massive stress carried out on his body when reproducing the skills due to not having the reflexes and muscle mass required to carry the skill out.

It was lucky that from the first time he had glanced at the genuine article, he had obtained enough that he had now been able to perform his own version of that swordplay to a reasonable level.

Having created the new spell from an advancement of projection, Shirou was interested in fully developing the theory behind the spell, he theorized that if he was able to imitate the skills and habits of the most prominent holder of the sword, he might be able to reduce the cost in remaking the sword since the magical cost for tracing would not have to imitate as the skill of the owner as much.

What was alarming was that since what he had done by gazing at the sword was akin to owning the memories of the owners, he had started to take up some of the habits. However, taking up the habits of the sword saint was not a big deal to Shirou, he had been an avid admirer of his swordplay as well as combat philosophy.

While practising one of the habits of the sword saint, Shirou had observed that when casting magecraft shortly after meditation, he had been able to absorb and gather more mana from the outside world into his circuits.

The mana he had gathered was also of a denser variety, thus able to allow him to conduct more expensive mysteries such as tracing with less mana cost and also with greater effectiveness and efficiency.

Shirou had at first been rather perplexed at this turn of events, he had quickly locked down the possibilities such that he had ascertained that the reason for the difference in magical energy was due to his breathing patterns shortly after meditation.

He had concluded that this was a realization of an eastern philosophy into Thaumaturgy in the form of 'Chi' and that by synchronizing his actions of inhalation and exhalation with the flow of nature, he was able to connect with the surroundings around him, allowing for a better absorption of mana from the outside world.

He had theorized that in many eastern legends, due to breathing and walking in a certain calm manner being a focus on martial arts, the warriors are subconsciously absorbing mana of a higher quality and creating mysteries, thus allowing for many famous and renowned warriors of eastern culture to be able to move at a level higher than a regular human by enhancing their body allowing for perhaps better result than would have been gained by using the spell of reinforcement with the knowledge of Thaumaturgy.

Shirou had proven his conjuncture that by using the denser mana gathered by this method, he was able to trace a higher quality version of the Musashi Masamune, allowing it to be able to survive for a week before undergoing rejection by Gaia. It appeared that the higher quality magical energy gained from the conversion had enhanced the quality of his magecraft.

It was the product of this superior result of tracing that one day in cleaning up the shed, Kiritsugu had been able to uncover the synthetic noble phantasm lying around in his home.

It had resulted in a short confrontation in which Shirou had not been too against revealing his full progress of his advancement of magecraft to his father, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to promote more confidence in the older Emiya, hoping for him to relent and allow Shirou to undergo more instruction in Thaumaturgy.

While Kiritsugu was extremely shocked at his son's progress in magecraft, he had determined that Shirou would be able to keep safe in the magical world even with the risks of carrying the Emiya name. He trusted that his son had adequate instincts as well as decent skills at combat at his age even when he was not specifically seeking out skills to master for combat.

The Magus Killer had a hunch that no matter what would happen, his son would eventually be embroiled in the world of Magi. As such, perhaps it would be better if he were able to instruct Shirou more on the practices as well as general knowledge of the world of Magi.

The older Emiya had also taken notice of Shirou's talent and skills in swordplay and had also taken to sparring with Shirou more often with more brutal tactics than what he normally used. He had hoped that this would help him down the line.

Shirou supposed that this display of tough love was perhaps Kiritsugu's way of subtly informing Shirou about the dangers and reluctant approval of Shirou to be involved in the hidden world.

Shirou was concerned about his father, he had been looking more haggard as time went on, he seemed to be declining in health for some unknown reason. Shirou had assumed that Kiritsugu had relaxed in his personal fitness after retiring but it was apparent that it was not the case here.

At first Shirou had not noticed the symptoms, but kiritsugu had been losing weight and as much as his father tried to hide it, his father was having more trouble in his daily activities.

Shirou was helpless, as far as he could tell, there was nothing visibly wrong with his father. His father still possessed a healthy appetite and he had not gotten sick nor shown any symptoms of sickness.

Shirou had a hypothesis, he believed that the incident shortly before Shirou's adoption that had gotten his father to retire could have been a factor with Kiritsugu's health decline. Shirou however lacked a solution, confronting his father would have been useless for there was nothing Shirou could do to help and it would have provided an additional emotional burden for his father to take.

He was under a schedule however, it was nearing the time of year in which his father would make his yearly trip to Germany. His father had always come of worse after those trips yet Shirou had no confidence in being able to inhibit his father's plans of travel.

He believed he had a limited time to save his father, he did not assurances that his father would be able to survive subsequent trip after this. This indicated that if Shirou were to possess any hope that his father would be cured, he would have to go behind Kiritsugu's back…

Shirou had no indication on Kiritsugu's affliction however, Shirou had an inkling that the illness was related or caused as a result of magecraft. From the meager number of books on magical theory that Shirou had convinced his father to source, he had a suspicion that Kiritsugu was suffering under a curse.

Shirou did not have much information on the supposed curse being placed upon Kiritsugu, but he doubted that Kiritsugu had been cursed willingly nor that he had been placed with a curse to atone for his actions.

The young Emiya was rather curious about the nature of the curse that his father was under. While Kiritsugu was not the best magus, he was nonetheless a practical one, if Kiritsugu was under a curse, the young Emiya doubted that Kiritsugu would eventually be able to get the curse off him, while Shirou knew his father was empty, he doubted that Kiritsugu would kick the bucket willingly until whatever Kiritsugu had over in Europe was settled.

The son of the Magus Killer had even resorted for searching in books of mythology, and folktales. The tales were simple and had not been specific enough to bear a resemblance, Nonetheless, Shirou knew that more information would only help in his new quest. None of the curses contained even seemed like it was similar to the one that Kiritsugu suffered from.

This meant that Shirou had to get outside help, while he had no doubt that Kiritsugu had connections in the magical world, he himself did not know enough to seek any sort of help. He doubted that the clocktower would accept a random Asian Magus so that meant looking nearby.

As part of his education on the magical world under Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer had informed Shirou on the location of Magi in Fuyuki. He had especially cautioned Shirou away from several figures such as Zouken from the Matou family as well as the church. Kiritsugu had seemed especially wary of a priest named Kirei Kotomine.

This meant that the only option left was the Tohsaka's, of which the only one remaining was a young heiress of the same age as Shirou. This meant that while she would probably be no help, on the other hand her family's Mansion had likely still contained a library with books and information that would be of help to Shirou.

Shirou was in a quandary however, even if he were to get into contact with the Tohsaka heiress, he had had nothing to be able to enable him to be able to convince her to provide use of her family library nor did he have any leverage that could be used.

While Shirou's curiosity had lessened over the years, he was still an inquisitive individual. He had managed to rein in his impulses and had given Kiritsugu his due privacy after his discovery, but he had convinced himself that he would have to once more take up the habit for the benefit of his father.

Shirou had never went looking in Kiritsugu's notes before. He had been aware that his father had an acute habit of keeping notes of his life's progression in the form of dairies but as far as he was aware, most of Kiritsugu's more recent notes across the last five years had been around the research of bounded fields.

Giving a quick browsing of Kiritsugu's notes, Shirou observed that most of Kiritsugu's research into bounded fields has been around taking them down. Shirou had known that Kiritsugu was extremely familiar with bounded fields due to his past occupation but he was aware that the Magus Killer had always taken the more pragmatic way of trying to find loopholes as a method of getting around bounded fields than directly taking them down.

It was a good approach, the young Emiya mused, however that did not discard the fact that his father had extremely profound research into the bounded fields and the methods of taking them down. It was a lot more knowledge than what Kiritsugu had required in his past operations.

The research of bounded fields by Kiritsugu was also scarily revolutionary, it appeared that rather than just having the ability of taking down bounded fields, Kiritsugu was researching into techniques that would increase the speed and efficiency as well as drastically reduce the cost in magical energy involved in taking them down.

Not placing too much importance on the research of Kiritsugu, Shirou continued looking within his father's notes. He had prioritized looking for documents that involved the Tohsaka family for leverage as well as looking for documents that dated back to the incident that had likely caused Kiritsugu's affliction.

It was fortunate that Kiritsugu had catalogued and organized his notes on an orderly manner with time frames and code names but there was little mention on the Tohsaka's. What little that Shirou had been able to find had been on documents related to a German Magus family called the Einzbern's. It appeared that his father had been employed by the German family.

Not that Shirou had cared too much about the Einzbern's but he made a mental note to research more into the Germans, having an inkling of suspicion that the purpose of his father's yearly trip to Europe was related to the prominent Magus family.

Shirou was aggravated, he had gone through almost all of his father's past missions and learning more of his father's operations than he had needed to know.

His father had spent most of his time working under magical organizations based in Europe, it had seemed like the majority of the magical population was centred in Europe, it appeared that the majority of fame the Tohsaka's possessed was due to having relations with the second magician, Kischur Zelretch Schweirnorg as well as being heavily involved in a ritual called the Holy Grail War.

Fortuitously, his dad apparently had dealings in this 'Holy Grail War' it seemed that his father was heavily involved too, considering that there was an entire drawer's worth of folders relating to the 'Holy Grail War'.

Shirou opened the first folder of the Holy grail war. It had contained the history of the war as well as the past results of previous wars. Apparently, there had been four wars so far with the last being the fourth. The folder sated that the primary purpose of the war was to enact a ritual through a loophole that allowed the exploitation of the root to grant near unlimited amounts of magical energy in order to be able to grant a wish.

There had been three main Magus families that had participated in the war. The Einzsbern, Matou or Makiri and the Tohsaka. The folder was labelled and categorized with footnotes linking to other folders on the Holy Grail War. Shirou skipped the rest of the document on the history of the war and went to the folder containing the information on the Tohsaka family.

_Due to the knowledge of the Tohsaka's, they could be a large threat in the process of summoning the servants, while attempts at subverting the Grail are unlikely to occur, it is a likely possibility that the Tohsaka's may be able to summon a servant of A rank or higher._

Shirou flipped the page, judging Kiritsugu's personal thoughts on the Tohsaka's to be of irrelevance.

_Tokiomi Tohsaka has secured an alliance with the church represented in the war, two servants serving on the Tohsaka side of the war is extremely likely. Threat level greatly increased for Tokiomi, more monitoring is required once the war begins._

Shirou continued on the page, wanting to see Kiritsugu's findings on the monitoring of the Tohsaka family.

_Assassin appears to be eliminated by the Tohsaka servant in an attack of the Tohsaka mansion. Doubt is present on the true state of servant assassin, consider possibility of planned deception if assassin is summoned by Kirei Kotomine…_

_The bounded field of the Tohsaka mansion has been penetrated, Tokiomi Tohsaka is found dead. The probability of a servant killing Tokiomi is low, Kariya Matou does not fit in the timeline to be the one who eliminated Tokiomi. Likely suspect is Kirei Kotomine…_

_Kirei Kotomine is still in the war, servant assassin is dead, probability is high that Kirei possess the command spell for archer. Kirei Kotomine has inherited the custody of the Tohsaka holdings, assume possible agenda for killing of Tokiomi. The likely custody of the Tohsaka heir is held by Kirei…_

Shirou smirked, closing the folder. He had obtained exactly what he needed, now he just needed a way to approach the Tohsaka heiress alone. He was slightly displeased at having to resort to such methods but he payed the line of thought little attention, he believed that if his father was aware, he would have admonished Shirou for placing an importance in honor.

Shirou gathered a pinch of magical energy from the surroundings and used structural grasping on the folder, memorizing and scanning each and every inch of it. He would need a high-quality long-lasting projection of the folder when the time came.

Now, Shirou supposed he better clear up the mess he made in his search. He reopened the drawer and relived several other folders out of it. Time to find out what the fuss about the Holy Grail War was about, Shirou mused…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors notes:
> 
> Firstly, we get to see Shirou's progress in his sword skills, this chapter starts two years from the last and we get a glimpse of the personality that Shirou would eventually develop into. Currently the most important this to him is his research and curiosity because of his Origin, which sorta gives him an instinctual understanding of everything theoretical. It is not a information dump into Shirou but rather a nudge telling him whenever he studies something theoretical that "this is not complete, it can go more, there is a higher stage". As such, due to Shirou feeling that something isn't 'complete' his curiosity triggers in and makes him want to research the topic to the max.
> 
> Shirou currently has the canon relationship he has with Taiga but he disdains the childlessness of her more. In this cause Shirou is a bit Tsundere'ish as in he disdains her on the surface but holds affection for her antics. He is however very socially stunted, do not expect him to make many friends.
> 
> In this story Kiritsugu recognizes Shirou's talent in magecraft, has an understanding that since he can't keep Shirou away from the magical world, might as well make him as safe as possible. He also knows that as Shirou is still ten, he does not train him since he wants him to be able to have a childhood.
> 
> The development of Shirou's magecraft with the spiritual eastern belief of mediation and breathing and walking thing is not my invention, it is used in canon to justify Kuzkui's better than human reflexes and perception as well as speed pre-buff by caster. I also thought it would be a great idea to explain eastern heroic spirits since all of the regular western based heroic spirits have awareness if not use of magic in some way and with this explanation, it allow eastern legends to break human stats and stand on an eastern ground. Also I would need Shirou to be able to gather denser and more mana for his magecraft in the future anyway, plus this gives him an interesting boost to be able to compete without constantly reinforcing himself.
> 
> Shirou becomes aware of the Holy Grail War, he also knows about Kirei's murder of Tokiomi Tohsaka so that gives him an interesting excuse to get into contact with Rin before entering Homurahara academy without something stupid like meeting at school. Also, I haven't yet seen a Rin that is aware of Kotomine's nature before the Holy Grail War so that also provides an interesting avenue of development.
> 
> This chapter is the most exciting setup for Shirou to interact with Rin as the typical fanfiction is just Shirou rolling over for Rin or Rin just being a regular Tsundere. An earlier meeting with both individuals at age ten and Shirou making use of Rin is a fascinating storyline that I would like to explore. Since there's still seven or so years till the war I want to explore Rin having a different Goal for the Holy Grail War without the vague I want to achieve victory for my families honor shallowness.


	6. The Journey for Providence, Part 2

A man walked down the steps at a swift, graceful pace, the man walked with purpose, determination and conviction. He was dressed in an ensemble of darkness; his hair was coloured raven black akin to the dark fur of the blackest of crows.

It provided a sharp contrast to his tanned skin, with gaunt features and sombre black eyes, the man had a resolute look, with indomitable single mindedness for his objective. He wore a dark trench coat and black suit. It was well-worn, nevertheless the suit was of noble make of the highest quality, maintaining its refinement even through the years.

It was an experienced routine for Kiritsugu, he had gone on the yearly trips to Germany ever since the end of the Holy Grail War, he had started making more frequent trips to Europe once his adopted son was old enough.

He had at first been apprehensive of his decision to go on more frequent trips. He had assumed that his adopted son would have had an objection to being left alone at the Emiya residence. That a young boy would be worried of the solitude would be a given.

Contrary to his initial expectations, Shirou had not minded his travels, all he requested was a souvenir from the places he visited. He knew the young Emiya was different. While he had not an agenda by saving the boy and adopting him, he had felt that the boy was something special from the start.

It was not parental pride for his son that had sprouted such an intuition to arise in him, no… Kiritsugu was above such behaviour, his long-held discipline and coolness was part of a routine for him to be able to kill off any traces of a shred of decency in him, it would have been a hazard in his line of work.

His son was gifted in magecraft, scarily so in fact. He could see that his son was similar to him in a way. Both were empty. While the circumstances for the emptiness was different, his son had ways to fill the void that was left due to restarting life with no memories.

While Kiritsugu's personal hollowness was self-inflicted, there had been a point of time where someone had been able to draw forth long forgotten sensations from the Magus Killer. His son had not needed that. The sole survivor of the Fuyuki fire had flung himself whole heartily into his desires.

While children were accustomed to getting their desires fulfilled, doing as they wished, they did not possess a laser like focus that his ward possessed. The boy was obsessed in his curiosity at the expense of anything else. In that aspect, he had a frightening potential to become a powerful Magus.

It was not a goal, for Shirou did not work hard for the purpose of improving his magecraft. What the boy was doing could not be considered as working. The boy embodied the realisation of his interests. Whatever the boy had gained an interest in, he lived and breathed it, like it was his lifeblood.

Kiritsugu could see no other apparent path for the boy to take, Shirou was not aware, but he too possessed a void akin to the elder Emiya. It had just taken form in a trait of boundless curiosity and a yearning to discover more.

It was fascinating, Kiritsugu mused, rather than the vacuum in the boy making him 'less', the void in Shirou had seemed to benefit him, making him 'more'. The Magus Killer could picture dozens of circumstances in which the survivor had recovered to grow into a regular child or become traumatised and resistant to the confrontation of reality.

His son had rendered those situations null and void, instead he had confronted reality and converted his hollowness into a source of constant growth. Kiritsugu thought that it manifested as a result of a subconscious desire to understand every part of the world thus reducing the possibility of a situation catching him off guard.

The young Emiya would belong in the magical world, Kiritsugu saw that now. Under Kiritsugu's tutelage in Thaumaturgy, the boy had picked up concepts, progressing at an unprecedented level.

Kiritsugu would not describe his son as a typical genius, being able to pick up knowledge at a faster rate and compound more on the knowledge given. Rather his son had possessed a unique instinct in learning. He seemed to know what the next stage of something was before possession of the facts.

His son had been able to expend on data with a frightening level of accuracy. While a genius would research avenues in order to improve on a level of theory. Once Shirou had placed his mind on a subject, it was as if he already knew what avenues would lead to dead ends and what could be expended on.

Instead of just being able to advance his knowledge quicker, he possessed the ability to recognize the 'how' of advancing his knowledge. When Kiritsugu had taught his boy on bounded fields, he immediately predicted the guaranteed ways to remove a bounded field rather than just working out the most effective and probable ways to take the obstacle down.

With his own merits, the boy had even invented what could effectively be considered as a new and different aspect in Projection, advancing beyond the paltry and useless base form in the spell in Graduation Air.

Once Kiritsugu had seen the reality that there was no keeping Shirou out of the magical realm, he had done his utmost to prepare his son for the dangers. Shirou would be fine Kiritsugu thought, he would be able to adapt and keep himself on the right track with minimal guidance.

There was a sense of irony in that while Kiritsugu had enlisted partners with him for assistance, he had never specifically desired an heir to teach. While it was an occurrence of fate that he was able to save Shirou, there would undoubtably be many magical families who would give innumerable assets to be able to obtain a potential as great as the young Emiya as an heir.

Even with his body failing him, Kiritsugu had been assured that his son would be perfectly capable of surviving without him. Now, it was time to ensure the safety of the older spawn of the Emiya.

He absolutely had to get his daughter off the hands of that old man Acht, he knew the Ezinbern head would have absolutely no considerations to morality as long as it advanced his name. He just had to get his daughter to safety with on this trip.

Perhaps he could even smuggle some magical research away from the Ezinberns, he had to find something to placate Shirou with after all…

* * *

Rin Tohsaka was utterly riled up by her guardian…

That annoying…no…infuriating useless priest had once again wound the young Magus up. The priest had once again been lacking in his attempts to tutor the young Magus in Thaumaturgy.

He had in fact provoked her in that utterly smug and irritating manner by asking her to refer to her library for his superficial knowledge in the Tohsaka magecraft was insufficient. Rin had absolutely what possessed her father, the great Magus that he was to pick Kirei Kotomine as his apprentice in Thaumaturgy.

That man was often incompetent with regards to guiding Rin in her attempts to learn advanced magecraft. Rin had not needed much assistance in her ability to advance in magecraft, she was after all a first-rate Magus of the highest quality… But would it have killed that man to be adept in a single subject whenever the young Tohsaka had hit a block in her progress.

The man was an absolute hack, a fraud of the highest level, unfit to be a Magus… For the love of the root, the man hadn't even possessed the proper magical circuits. It would have been fine if he had revealed how the magic of the church worked, but nooo… it was supposed to be a 'secret'.

Rin did not have a speck of faith in the bane of her existence, that fake priest was obviously trying to taunt her by possessing unknown magic that would most likely under normal circumstances be impossible to access for a regular Magus.

It had been several years after the death of her parents and the last Tohsaka had missed the pair. She often thought of how life would be like if her parents had survived the Holy Grail War and its aftermath.

Thoughts of her parents had often possessed Rin with her hoping that her father especially would be pleased at her progress in magecraft. She had also missed her Sister, Sakura but confronted herself by the fact that she was most likely having a far better life in the Matou family, away from the presence of the annoying priest.

She folded her arms together, unfamiliar with the path she was heading. It had appeared that engrossed in thoughts of displeasure due to the priest, she had deviated from her usual path home from the church.

She released her stance, and gave her right tail of her hair a pull, her bright inquisitive cerulean blue eyes looking around. Had she gotten lost? That would be quite a humiliation, Rin thought inwardly, what kind of second owner would get lost in her own city?

Rin suddenly looked up, startled, she noticed the condition of her magical circuits, it had seemed that her body was subconsciously attempting to resist an effect of an illusional spell. Even with her body resisting the spell, it had seemed she was caught in the effects nonetheless.

She gathered some od and ran it briefly through her circuits, making sure to purge all effects of the spell. The spell broke, it seemed that it was a secondary effect made due to her location. It appeared that she had stepped into a bounded field.

The magical barrier did not seem hostile in nature, but the last Tohsaka did not place much confidence in that fact, she brought her arms up, looking around and getting into a fighting stance, a _Grandr_ spell ready to fire at any indication of a hostile presence.

She was anxious, but alert. Her muscles were tensed up, her magical circuits were ready, with the availability to apply reinforcement on her muscles on any given time. She readied the Tohsaka crest, willing to unleash the generations of Tohsaka research gearing to fire, like a beast readied to pounce.

She was tense, she lamented her mentor into distracting her and putting her in this situation. He would pay for this, the Tohsaka heiress vowed. She first had to be able to get out of this confrontation unscathed, preferably with the culprit apprehended.

Rin was under no delusions as to how a conflict would go down, she was a magus of the highest quality, an average one, capable of unleashing magic of all elements on a valuable target.

She was however still in training, she had not yet mastered the Tohsaka jewelcraft, she was away from the formidable magic which had so established her predecessors as powerful mages.

Her goal was to identify the offender, she would despair if she was encircled by multiple targets. She believed that with carefully application of her wits, she would be able to surprise and take advantage of even a fully-fledged adult magus.

The female Magus analysed her situation, she was in a in a narrow passage, with high walls on both sides, the bounded field covered about a couple dozen meters in each direction. The bounded field had taken form in an active spell, it was static, made to contain the individuals within.

There was a possibility she would be able to disrupt the bounded field with a burst of magic but she kept the option at the back of her head, it was better to conserve what she had for combat.

If she was able to, she could even keep the strategy as a trump card to surprise her captor for a quick escape.

The bounded field was rather rudimentary, as far as the young Tohsaka could tell, it had two abilities. To keep the individuals contained as well as provide illusionary properties for the creator of the field.

Rin was observant, looking around. She was trying to spot irregular shadows. It was a sunny day, she hoped she would be able to exploit the fact to more easily spot any bending of light.

She kept her breathing patterns steady, straining her ears for traces of footsteps, ready to react at a confirmation in auditory form.

The alley she was trapped in was narrow, too narrow. She would not be able to slip past her attacker if she wanted. Neither was it the best location for any form of magical combat, she would not be able to dodge any magical attacks.

Now that Rin had noticed that fact, she was counting on the fact that her opponent would not be able to dodge as well. This denoted a different sort of confrontation. Her attacker may not have wished for a conflict.

Perhaps her attacker desired something else than her capture or death. Her captor had not gone through her guardian for a meeting with her. This signified that the culprit could have less than noble intentions. While she herself would prefer to spend as little time with Kirei as possible, it was still protocol after all.

Another possibility lied in the fact that perhaps the individual that had targeted her was an enemy of the church. However, the Tohsaka's had been allied with the church for generations, she doubted that an enemy of the church would be an ally for her. Her family had always provided regular donations to the burial agency.

Perhaps the individual after her was unaffiliated? That would make sense, however the young Tohsaka could only bring up a singular entity which would fit the description.

She doubted that it was the eccentric wizard marshal, she was still of a young age. She hadn't even achieved being a great Magus yet, it was not yet the time for the Kaleidoscope to acknowledge her prowess in magecraft…

* * *

A crackling sound was heard, Rin narrowed her eyes, looking around, there was still no one in the alley.

"Tokiomi Tohsaka was a magus of the highest quality, he was a powerful Magus…" the voice rang out. The statement was said in a monotone, giving no clue that would lead Rin to deduce the possible identity of the mysterious voice.

The sound echoed through the alleyway, it was ricocheting through each wall, suppressing the likelihood of locating the direction of the voice.

"I do not know the extent of your knowledge, but your father had summoned what could possibility be the most powerful servant in the fourth Holy Grail War… The servant was able to defeat Iskandar, the king of conquerors in his reality marble himself and emerge unscathed."

"The servant was present in the end of the Holy Grail War. Days after the death of your father. The servant had fought on behalf of another master…"

"So, I ask of you Tohsaka-san, … Do you know how and by who's hand did your father's death occur? …"

Rin was vigilant and focused, taking in every detail of the words she had heard from the mysterious voice. She did not possess much knowledge about the cause of her father's death as well as the details of the last Holy Grail War.

Rin had ran into master of Caster in the last war when she had snuck out, but her knowledge was superficial at best. She had no indication on the identity of her father's servant nor the abilities used. But what she did know was what Kotomine had told her.

She knew her uncle Kariya Matou, a childhood friend of her mother, was a master in the last war. Kotomine had told her that he was the master of berserker and that he was a factor in her father's death, but not much else.

She remembered meeting Kariya in the last war, when he had saved her against a monster made by caster but he had looked different. He had rather looked so different and repulsive from what she remembered that she recalled fainting upon her rescue.

She recalled that Kariya had visited her family often when she was younger but he had looked extremely different in the Holy Grail War.

Kirei had informed her that Kariya had summoned a capable berserker but judging from the voice, it seemed as though berserker would not be able to defeat her father's servant and judging from his condition in the last war, He would not be able to defeat her father in combat.

This meant that someone else had been the killer of her father and that the killer was responsible for picking up the contract of her father's servant. This narrowed down the list of possible murderers.

Rin kept quiet, wanting to know more from the voice. She had been curious about the events of the fourth war but had obeyed her father's final wish, casting her desires away in order to become the most capable Magus that would be able to live up to the Tohsaka name.

"Tohsaka-san, you must have figured out by now that your father's killer was a surviving master of the fourth Holy Grail War… There is nothing more to it, one of the masters was Tokiomi's Killer…What you feel about the information is for you to figure out, I wish you the best in your endeavors. I will be in contact… Tohsaka-san."

The voice disappeared. It had ended with a crackling sound. Rin felt the bounded field go down. There was no one in both directions of the alleyway.

Rin spotted something, lying innocently under the shadow casted by the high walls around the alleyway was an electronic contraption. The Magus deduced that this contraption must have been what the illusion had hid.

The owner of the voice must have been able to transport his message through the unknown electronic contraption. While he must have been nearby in order to be able to provide a source of energy for the temporary bounded field to stay active, Rin was in an unfamiliar location and would be in a disadvantage.

Rin decided to take the safer option and not attempt to locate the owner of the voice. She picked up the electronic contraption and walked away. Besides, she had to think about the revelations that the voice had provided.

It was fortunate and most likely planned by the mysterious individual that she was approached today, she still had a week until her lessons with Kirei Kotomine. This would give her time to search for answers.

Rin made her way home, she walked with a slow contemplative gait. Slowly as she left the alleyway, she was observed holding her arms beside her stiffly and clenching her fists harder…

* * *

The figure watched from the rooftops a mile away. He smirked in a pleased manner. He had felt that the confrontation went better than he expected. Now it was time to wait for the decisions of the Tohsaka heiress.

Shirou sighed, what he had just did was extremely underhanded but he had felt that it was his only option that was able to succeed in swaying the Tohsaka heiress. It was distasteful but Shirou believed that it was necessary.

He supposed that he could have attempted to approach her normally but the presence of an additional Magus family in Fuyuki would have thrown her off. Additionally, Shirou had wanted to obtain an idea about the extent of her knowledge of the past Holy Grail Wars.

He needed to set the bait, to give the Tohsaka heiress a sense of curiosity and let her come to her own conclusions. If she was aware of the exploits of the Magus killer or had knowledge of his adopted name of Emiya, she would be doubtful of his intentions.

He wouldn't blame the female Magus to be more suspecting once he revealed himself but he felt that he would be able to get a more accurate read on the female Tohsaka with more interactions by that point.

What he had achieved today had served to give him a guide, the Tohsaka had looked unaware of most of the happenings of the Holy Grail War. The notes of the Magus Killer had a plan to kidnap the Tohsaka girl however from what he could deduce from the information, the Tohsaka had lived with her mother's regular family and it would have been too much of a trouble to arrange a kidnapping.

The plan was scrapped as it would also have served in revealing Kiritsugu's presence as a master in the fourth war, a fact that Shirou was uncertain how many knew. Kiritsugu had made use of a bait for his servant in the fourth war, however Tokiomi Tohsaka while possessing an attitude and mindset of a regular Magus was still an intelligent individual and would have guessed the possibility of the presence of the Magus Killer in the war if Kiritsugu had went ahead with the plan. This would have removed his advantage in anonymity in the fourth war.

From what he could tell, the Tohsaka was unaware of the Emiya name. He supposed that it would be safe to reveal himself in a few days. Kirei Kotomine obviously possessed some influence on the Tohsaka, the girl had possessed a profound disdain for her guardian for some reason. Could it be the same explanation for the wariness of Kiritsugu towards the priest?

Shirou would try to find out more about the war. His path had already been set. He needed to keep the girl distracted, she seemed bright. He would have to resort himself to more despicable measures, he would need to manipulate the girl into developing a strong hatred towards her guardian if he had to, it was the best way to distract her from his presence.

Inwardly, a guilty part of Shirou was rather excited about meeting the female Tohsaka, he had a disdain for other children of his age. It would be quite interesting to meet a fellow Magus of a similar age.

If he was able to recognise his own feelings, Shirou would identify that he wanted to develop a possible friendship with another member of the Shadow world. That part of Shirou however supressed could only hope for the possibility of developing a bond with the Tohsaka.

It was all for Kiritsugu, Shirou comforted himself, it was an obligation, the man had saved him from the fire after all. It would be tragic if he had lost his father this early in his life, not when even after all the trouble's that Kiritsugu had suffered from, he had done his best to raise Shirou especially when considering his mental state...

* * *

It had been three days since the meeting. Rin was pacing around, arms folded, she was in her basement workshop previously used by her father. Her father had left her a special inheritance.

Before her father's death, he had mentioned the inheritance left for her. Her father had told her it was to contain magical artefacts that would be of use to her for the next Holy Grail War.

It was secured by a puzzle that was meant to be solved with the usage of her wits and advanced Thaumaturgy. Rin had not planned on taking a crack on the puzzle yet but she had tried earlier nonetheless. While Rin was confident, she could solve most of the puzzle currently, it contained parts that had required the advanced mastery of the Tohsaka Jewelcraft.

The female Magus was disappointed, while she had expected this outcome, she had wanted to check if the inheritance contained something that would provide more insight into the situation.

She had deduced that judging from the information that she had been given, her guardian Kirei was responsible for the death of her father by means of betrayal. As much as she detested her guardian, she had some doubts about the situation.

As far as the Tohsaka Magus was aware, there was not a winner in the fourth Holy Grail War. Kirei was not an individual to desire the grail and while he was one of the surviving masters of the previous war, there was no actions that he made that had indicated he wanted to obtain the Holy Grail.

There was no logical reason for Kirei to betray her father as far as she knew, he was an apprentice of Tokiomi Tohsaka and by all means should be deeply indebted to Tokiomi for teaching him when he was barely a Magus and one that was lacking in potential.

What she was more conflicted towards was the message from the mysterious Magus, Rin had no idea what the agenda of the Magus was such that he would provide this information for her. Did he potentially have a grudge against the priest or the Tohsaka family, hoping for Rin to seek revenge and ending to Tohsaka line? Rin was unsure about the motivations but she had nonetheless retained the information revealed to her.

While logically Rin knew that the possibility of her father's death due to Kirei was unlikely, an instinct within her was telling her to not discard the possibility. She had observed Kirei's nature and had always felt uneasy around him. She had noted that there were always incidents where she spotted the priest with hints of sadism…

* * *

Shirou looked around the staircase, he had spotted the Tohsaka heiress walking to her workshop. He decided to wait outside the staircase leading to the basement. While he had managed to bypass the Tohsaka bounded fields outside the mansion, he dared not tempt his luck by trying to penetrate the bounded fields of the basement workshop.

The workshop of a Magus is the nexus of any research they have made. As such, most workshops are well protected with even more advanced bounded fields. In order to minimise the risk of their research being stolen, most Magi construct their workshop in a strategic position, reducing the possible entryways and have a bounded field constructed that is usually lethal.

Shirou supposed that this did not differ for the Tohsaka. He spotted some chairs surrounding a small table that was suitable for discussions outside the staircase leading to the basement. He sat down and placed some folders on the table.

Shirou had dressed as non-threateningly as possible in preparation for a discussion with the Tohsaka heiress. He had worn a plain white shirt and black jeans. He had also brought a grey trench coat in his size that he obtained from Kiritsugu's coat rack.

He had chosen this coat due to its linings, through the usage of structural analysis, Shirou had found out that this coat had a slight resistance to magecraft. It was not the best protection but its abilities would prove adequate against simple spells especially considering he was planning on catching the Tohsaka Magus off guard.

It was time to wait, Shirou closed his eyes, planning to meet another magus for the first time…

Rin walked up the steps from her workshop, she had come to a decision. The figure that had contacted her had not given details of how she would learn more. She supposed that she would wait for the figure to confront her. She was about to consider locating a pack of tarot cards to attempt to use divination to provide a clue as to the path that led to the resolution of the current issue.

"Tohsaka-san, have you decided?" A voice inquired.

Rin looked up; she saw the source of the voice. It was not what she expected; her first instinct was to identify the intruder. He was sitting in front of her.

It appeared that it was a boy of a similar age to her, he wore casual clothing. The first and most noticeable feature she had spotted was his hair, he had bright red hair that was spiky. She noticed his eyes; they were of a yellowish golden shade that shone brightly.

He looked strange in the eyes of the female Magus. Having spent her life in Japan, she was surprised to see that the boy's features were a strange mix of European and Asian. He had a rare hair colour with an even rarer shade of eyes.

He was tall for a boy of an age similar to Rin. The female Magus was not fooled however, she belonged in the magical world as a first-rate Magus, she would not be simply deceived by an appearance of youth.

She had an advanced level of knowledge considering her age, she could immediately come up with over a dozen supposed methods that one would be able to adjust their age. Nevertheless, an instinct told her that the individual in front of her was the age that his appearance implied, for his eyes shone with curiosity and a hint of mischievousness.

The female Magus was still wary, this individual had clearly broken into her mansion. He had not taken down the bounded fields and she had not gotten a warning of any form. He had to have bypassed her bounded fields instead of penetrating them.

Rather the possibility that he had the ability to take down the regular bounded fields of her house was secondary; he was clearly expecting her to not attack on sight. She would question him about his presence.

"Who are you? How had you entered my home? What are your intentions?"

"Emiya…Shirou Emiya. I am a fellow Magus, Tohsaka-san… I require your assistance, in return, I will return the favour by assisting you in your decision… however you chose to act."

The boy who had introduced himself as Emiya had disregarded her second question, his hands were held above his head in a non-threatening manner.

"Then the man who sent me the message…"

"Yes… It was me Tohsaka-san…"

"You're the same age as me… how could you have possibly known that about the Holy Grail War?"

"I was adopted… around the time of the end of the Holy Grail War there was a fire… Kiritsugu Emiya had saved me from the fire and adopted me... he was a surviving master of the Holy Grail War… He had written down the events of the war…in exchange for a request, I will provide you with more information on the war as well as assistance to correct this injustice made against you family…"

"Here, have a look…" He gestured towards the folders on her table, she believed his words… However, …what help would she, a magus not yet trained be able to provide that the presumably formidable magus parent of this boy couldn't?

"What, do you want?" Rin asked sternly, tightening up her features, hoping to intimidate the boy.

"You look cute…" Shirou said abruptly as he snorted, trying not to laugh at the angry expression that the female magus was trying to make.

"ANSWER ME!" The Female Magus demanded as she flushed, angry at the condescending answer that was made in reply.

"Okay, okay, Tohsaka-san…" Shirou placated.

"I require the use of your library, …my father may be of the Emiya name but the assets were seized by the clocktower due to the actions of his predecessors, as such I require more restrictive knowledge, knowledge that the Tohsaka might possess…"

"How will you assist me in return?... Emiya-kun?" Rin asked, curious for what help the Emiya had thought she would require.

"You require retaliation do you not? The priest has wronged your family, at the very least you would need him to confess his crimes… I would be able to assist you in doing that. You do not expect him to confess his crimes easily do you? … Besides, the priest is crafty, he survived the last war after all, he will be a formidable opponent, one that you would not be able to demand answers from currently regardless of your magical potential."

"And you think that is enough!? The Tohsaka library is worth more than the repositories of the typical magical family. It even contains research that if used correctly can lead one on the path of gaining a true magic… How do you expect me to loan out such valuable knowledge easily?"

Rin replied, enraged… She would not tolerate some unscrupulous untrained magus access to the valuable Tohsaka research gathered through centuries, her father would be most disappointed if she so dishonoured the Tohsaka name.

"No… what I offer is not sufficient. But it's all I can offer you, that and your life of course… killing you would be much simpler in achieving my goals…"

Shirou brought up his hand holding a gun at her, the conversation had gone as well as could be expected. He had hoped that should would accept his offer naively but this was the only way to achieve his demands.

He gave her a firm look, he would be able to carry out this threat, if he could he would have offered more but this was the only way he could obtain what he wanted.

"If its any consolation, I would only require research on curses and magical ailments, I'll even offer being your assistant for your magical research. We'll promise not to harm each other, directly or indirectly and to always provide help in the future to the best of my abilities…"

"Here, lets settle this with a geis, what do you say?"

Rin looked at the Emiya threatening her, she would concede that she found his offer now more alluring, the fact that he would only require a specific section of the library had played a part in convincing her, an assistant would be helpful too.

However, Rin was spiteful, she felt unpleasant that she was effectively threatened into such an offer. She couldn't see any way out of this; he had pulled out a gun which Magus or not would be able to harm her.

If she was older, her reinforcement might allow for her to dodge such shot but as she was now, in the confinements of the room, she had been caught off guard, allowing this boy the initiative, the only thing she could do was accept, she would hold a grudge against him however.

She inwardly questioned herself, why would he go to such lengths for such information? It didn't seem as though he wanted it for his personal advancement in Thaumaturgy, his intentions towards her had also not seemed malicious. It would be simple for him to just kill her as he claimed, but it seemed he was refraining from such an eventuality, even offering better terms to sweeten the deal.

She vowed to herself that she would solve this mystery and discover his motivations, aside from that, he would be helpful for her objectives, having this glaring flaw in her bounded fields could be a major hazard in the future after all.

"Fine, it's not as if I have any other choice! But you will accede to all my future demands!" Rin shouted at him, folding her arms annoyed at the situation.

"Sure, that is fine." Shirou chuckled to himself under his breath, relieved at the situation…

_To the heiress and current head of the house of Tohsaka, Rin, daughter of Tokiomi: regarding…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> Kiritsugu goes to try to release illya from the Ezinberns once more and we get his detailed thoughts on Shirou. His internal thoughts revolve around Shirou as his current and only source of light in his life.
> 
> He reflects on what he knows about Shirou in his few years of adoption. He also reaffirms and reassures himself about his decision to integrate Shirou into Magus society. He prepares him as best he can, and catches the parallels between himself and Shirou. We see his cold but fatherly side as he worries at what his trips will do to Shirou.
> 
> Shirou finally gets some tutelage in Thaumaturgy and we see how his origin gives him and boost in learning as well as changing his personality in a way that Shirou could be perceived as smart.
> 
> Shirou is still not a genius but he gets a leg up on everything he wants to learn, when studying something he effectively knows the end point so that instead of studying all the steps from 1 to 5 he only needs to discover the possible steps to get to 5, as long as he has a possible solution, his instinct will inform him effectively the best path while compared to others like Rin, she has to study 1 to 5 but she gets a leg up on her intellect in determining more and better paths to get from 1 to 5 so she could get there faster than Shirou but she might chose the wrong or less effective steps thereby still learning as fast as Shirou with a superior intellect.
> 
> The instinct of Shirou combined with his boundless curiosity effectively advances his learning in Thaumaturgy such that he will effectively fit better as a caster compared to even the counter guardian version of Emiya, starting out from the holy grail war, even before anything happens he will already be rin level or better due to his origin.
> 
> We see him get into contact with Rin as well as her internal thoughts. Keep in mind that this is the 10 year old version of Rin and she hasn't developed a facade yet, this is a Rin before entering Homhamura which allows me to be able to potray her with childish traits without the Tsundere aspect, well at least not yet.
> 
> Basically this arc is centered around the fact that I want my Shirou to be more of a caster and not just in projection. In order for me to be able to achieve that, Shirou needs to have more knowledge in Thaumaturgy and the only way to do that without involving outside characters is to be in contact with Rin and in the meantime he squeezes all of Kiritsugu's knowledge on magecraft that he can get.
> 
> I have to admit that this took quite a bit of thought since I didn't want to create an Original Character yet and I also don't want to involve Waver since I don't want to involve the clocktower until at least the Holy Grail War. And since Shirou needs to effectively create his own brand of magecraft due to his origin, he doesn't really need a teacher but rather just guidance. I just felt that Rin fit best for this role.
> 
> Basically he threatens her into helping him and he helps her too, of course this will make the relationship start out with more animosity but isn't that just more interesting?


	7. The Journey for Providence, Part 3

Shirou opened his eyes, he blinked, he looked at the mirror again, attempting to get the traces of sleep out of his appearance. He had woken up prematurely again, he never managed to get a constant sleeping schedule right, he looked at the clock before cleaning himself, it was three at night and he wasn't completely sure he would be able to fall back asleep.

It was the night after the encounter with the female Magus. Shirou was yet again failing to keep himself asleep for a long period of time beyond a few hours. While the great fire that had led to his adoption by Kiritsugu was a rather harrowing event, Shirou felt that with Kiritsugu immediately inserting himself into Shirou's life in a fatherly role had enabled Shirou to be well adjusted after the event. A big part of that was undoubtedly Shirou's missing memories of his life before but while the doctors had deemed him to suffer Amnesia from the trauma of the event, the possibility of him suppressing it unconsciously was a rather large one. While his memories could be just missing, Shirou had not been motivated by a sense of loneliness of being an orphan alone in the world to go diving down too deep into the line of thinking that could lead to feeling the loss of his life before as well as the loss and absence of his presumed family. He supposed that he did not feel one way or another about his life before, rather than out of any profound or petty emotional reason, Shirou had just lacked the emotional depth as due to his Amnesia there was no positive or negative feelings about his family or his past life. As a child of the age of seven, even with no prior memories, he was still far more invested in the mystery that was Magecraft. This had allowed him to dwell on that as well as integrating himself into his strange new life with Kiritsugu. No. Shirou considered himself a well-adjusted individual after such a traumatic event but it had seemed that his body thought differently. Shirou would often wake up with spasms in the initial new month and year with Kiritsugu. He had taken up meditation as a result of that, allowing him to get a degree of rest while not suffering from his body's reactions. It was better now that a few years were past, but due to having to suffer without much sleep for so long, even with a peaceful rest, he was accustomed to few hours of sleep.

Shirou considered trying to force himself to sleep but had decided not to, it was no great loss after all, he decided to spend his time reading a book that he had seen lying around and promptly nicked at the Tohsaka mansion. He had decided in the moment that if it was left lying around it would be no great loss for the female Tohsaka and even if it were missed, surely such carelessness from a Magus deserved to suffer for such a callous act?

After opening the cover, his mind drifted off disturbingly quickly to the events of the day. He had made his decision a few days ago and considered it for even longer but this was not Shirou wavering from his choices. No, he was resolute. There had been almost no thought needed in his initial stages. Shirou was unusually apathetic at his age due to having to start with a clean slate relatively late in his early development but he supposed that his mindset would apply differently to individuals he cared about, he did not know for the only individuals he did care about were fine until Kiritsugu started showing signs about his health. Shirou was unsure exactly how to put into words how he personally felt about Kiritsugu's failing health but through mediation sessions had centered towards a sense of concern on behalf of his guardian.

The predominant priority for Shirou was mostly to discover more about the situation. It was not a situation that he had been prepared to find himself in after all. If it was anyone else, he would have asked directly but this was regarding Kiritsugu here. As fatherly as he was towards Shirou, he still had a colder and more withdrawn stance towards events in life, his father was absolutely not the type to tell Shirou the truth. He was suffering under a curse, that much anyone with knowledge of Magecraft would be able to tell but how was Shirou to know more? There were no avenues possible other than Kiritsugu who would be able to tell from Shirou's prodding what he was seeking and discourage if not forbid him from knowing more. It was still a duty of a son to do what he could for his father however, even ignoring the debt of life that he had owed Kiritsugu. In the mind of Shirou, Kiritsugu represented a true definition of a hero for not just saving but taking in him after the fire. Thus, even when there was no obvious avenue for Shirou to provide his help, wanted or not, he would have to make an avenue and find a way to help. He had made the actions to pave the path into his objective, the rest was up to what he could do with what he had gained. It was his duty to maneuver himself around the situation with Tohsaka after their deal. He was unsure if she would be overly frosty and hindering even with a Geis but he had nothing to go on about her deposition.

Shirou had not known much about the Tohsaka beyond his father's notes. There was an idle note of the young Tohsaka's existence but it had only mentioned that before the onset of the Holy Grail War, she had been spirited with her mother to somewhere safe. Any chance of her being in the war was immediately dismissed by Kiritsugu thought there were idle theories about the extent of her progress in Magecraft. Shirou had considered that it might have been better for him to inquire with the Matou's due to their superior knowledge with regards to curses but a consideration was all there was to that line of inquiry.

Shirou reflected on his prior interactions with the female Magus. There had not been much as assess about her. She was cautious, which provided no indications towards her nature but he noted that an interesting observation was that she was not or had not provided him with the idea that she was a rash individual. She had not attempted to attack Shirou on both occasions, whether due to being wary of him or the gun he had pilfered from Kiritsugu's storage was unknown. Shirou was left with the impression that he had thrown her off balance with his manner of approach and confrontation. He had expected at least an attempt of attacking him. He was not confident for his chances of victory even with a gun, even at the age of ten, who knew her progress in Magecraft? The biggest unknown factor was her magic crest, which as a Tohsaka, she no doubt possessed. If she was able to access an integral portion of the abilities within the crest, he would have been in trouble. She had accepted his deal surprisingly easily though even with him not giving her much of a choice.

Shirou considered it best to perhaps initially display a degree of subservience towards her. It was not as if she could do much to him with the Geis active on both sides but a less aggressive relationship would be better if he did not want her to actively or passively hinder him. Well, there was not much he could do beyond that. Since the deal had already been made, Shirou would just grit his teeth and move on, no matter how the future would turn out. He resumed to the book after the resolution of his thoughts and reaffirmation of his conviction.

It was a book about origins, it was rather just a rather basic introduction but Shirou had lacked much reading material with regards to Thaumaturgy so he gave it a shot when he found it lying around, he had found what he previously knew of the topic to be rather intriguing and wanted to know more as well as try to discover a method of discovering and awakening his Origin if he desired.

He recalled Kiritsugu once mentioning that he had a dual origin of severing and binding, it had seemed that the then Lord Emiya had conducted a ritual prior to Kiritsugu's birth that had revealed his origins and thus resulted in the naming of Kiritsugu by his parents according to his origins of severing and binding.

The book mentioned had provided an insight to a topic Shirou knew the name of but not much beyond. The "awakening" of an Origin. It had mentioned that to "awaken" an Origin was akin to the act of better understanding one's soul. Due to Magical energy being spiritual in nature, to gain a deeper understanding of one's soul could provide a possible boost to the individuals future endeavors in Magecraft. There was a warning in the book that to awaken the Origin of an individual could potentially alter and effect the individuals in extreme ways, impacting their choices and in some cases even altering or setting in stone the fate of the individual. However, the book had also dismissed its own warnings and mentions that a true Magus would accept the consequences and reap the potential rewards of awakening one's Origin to advanced his or her path to the Root. After all, part of being a Magus is to already accept to walk with death.

Kiritsugu would be back in the country in a few hours' time. While Shirou hoped that his father had succeeded in his quest, he doubted it considering the apparent difficulty. As such, Shirou had been rather looking forward to his return as Kiritsugu had made a call to Shirou about obtaining some rather strange items for a ritual. Kiritsugu mentioned that it was related to an artifact the Kiritsugu had come by on his journey.

Shirou idly wondered what it may have been, he knew that it was something that would benefit him as he had no doubt that this was his birthday present. While his birthday had been acknowledged, it was a rather dull affair. It was fine for Shirou, he had not thought about it one way or another and Kiritsugu just didn't seem like to type to focus on such occasions. His father while appearing cold was actually quite affectionate to individuals within his circle. While Kiritsugu had been fine leaving Shirou alone while he went on his trips, knowing his father, Kiritsugu had probably still felt guilty about his trip and had arranged for an opportunity to purchase a gift that would cater to Shirou's interest in Thaumaturgy.

Throughout his adoption and revelations about Kiritsugu, he had learned many things about his Magus Killer and they had developed a surprisingly close fatherly bond. While there was much to be said about his father such as his inability to cook something edible and his bouts of melancholy, there was no denying that Kiritsugu was sincere in raising him.

While Kiritsugu was more withdrawn naturally, he had always tried to act warm and fatherly towards Shirou, while his father had known that Shirou was not nor would ever be a regular child due to his experiences, he had nonetheless attempted to provide happiness to Shirou's life.

It was through his experiences that Shirou had started idolizing Kiritsugu, he did not care what had led his father to aim to be the best parent for him, an orphan of no relation whatsoever to Kiritsugu but Shirou was glad for it nonetheless.

Shirou had accidentally found out an awful lot about his father but it was with getting a possible glimpse of Kiritsugu's experiences that stressed the fact that Shirou was grateful to the elder Emiya. It was not an obligation for Kiritsugu to take him in and treat him like a true son.

The man had already saved Shirou's life, he could have left him in the orphanage and Shirou would still be indebted to him. He could have ignored Shirou and just spent all his time on his goal but he had not. He had tried to balance his time between his mysterious objective and spending time as a father to Shirou as best as he could.

It was through this that Shirou had developed such an appreciation for Kiritsugu's presence in his life, for as far as he knew as a clean slate from the fire was that life was about discovering new things, to indulge in one's desires. Kiritsugu had shattered his belief by his selfless actions of taking in Shirou.

Shirou had discovered the fact that there was a possibility that the actions of the Magus Killer could have been the cause of the fire but Shirou had not lingered too much on that fact. As far as Shirou knew, Kiritsugu had already gone far and beyond just being able to redeem his possible guilt.

There was no doubt in his mind and heart that Kiritsugu had adopted him because he had wanted to out of a degree of kindness in his heart. Kiritsugu may not have been aware but his actions have displayed his authenticity.

Shirou flipped another page on his book about origins, he hadn't had a meeting with the female Magus since the events of the previous day but he inwardly made a note to himself to discreetly return the book once he had finished reading it. He would not want to add an extra factor to his complicated situation with the Tohsaka girl…

* * *

Kiritsugu had returned at dawn, he had felt dissatisfied about his failure once again to retrieve Illya. The Magus Killer had a lifetime of experience and without excessive pride could claim that he was one of the best at taking down or getting around bounded fields. As proud and skilled as the top Magus in the clocktower were, Kiritsugu had still been a noteworthy individual even with his lack of skill as well as education in Magecraft. While he was not a major threat worthy of a designation like a dead apostle, he was still considered a threat to the vast majority of the Magi.

He was better at the destroying and discovering loopholes in bounded fields than of other aspects of Magecraft but it had seemed that his better skill was not particularly effective at retrieving his daughter from the Einzberns. Normally Kiritsugu would already have bypassed flaws in the bounded fields without even bothering to take them down. The Einzbern properties were different however.

After a few years in his marriage with Irisviel and the subsequent birth of Illya, Jubstacheit had requested that he improved the bounded fields in the Einzbern properties. He had agreed after some negotiations for payment. It was not an issue for him at the time, he had after all happily married into the Einzberns with a daughter and while the Holy Grail War was not to start for several years, there was nonetheless a possibility of taking the Einzberns out of the equation through a pre-offensive or a kidnapping attempt prior to the war. To not consider the possibility and protect against it without the benefit of hindsight would to the height of folly.

Everything was going well at that time. As such when updating the bounded fields, he had closed up every loophole possible that was able to allow an enemy to enter the properties. It was the best decision that he could have made at the time, any individual that was able to bypass the Einzbern properties whether through brute force or through indirect actions could and would have been a threat to his wife and daughter. Nothing was to be left out, his family would be safe.

He had tried a different approach on every journey he took on his quest. While the Einzberns had many holdings throughout the globe from their vast wealth gained from Alchemy, there was only one building that Illya would be in, the main Einzbern castle. At least, the target was a fixed factor.

Part of his quest aside from directly prodding the defenses of the Einzbern was to acquire magical items that would be of relevant assistance to his quest. Such an item would not be common but he had heard mutterings through his career across the globe. There were items as well as mystic eyes that had the power or utility to take down, dismantle or alter bounded fields. A factor was the cost of such a purchase, however if pushed Kiritsugu would be able to acquire significant amounts both from what he already possessed and what he could further acquire legally or not. The bigger factor was the fact that such items while available to purchase at magical auctions would come with the requirement of obtaining the invite. A member of the powerful Magus family such as the Einzbern even with the lack of status in the Clocktower would be able to easily obtain such an invite. Kiritsugu as he was now however would not be as excellent a candidate that would be 'deserving' of such an invite. Kiritsugu had not the best reputation in the Moonlit world and even disregarding his reputation, he had been out of action for a while so any positives he could obtain with his reputation would be minimal. Even if he were to use it to his advantage, he would draw too much attention on both himself and potentially his Son. This was something Kiritsugu resolved not to do. As such, the only path for the Magus killer was to work in the shadows and wonder around and hoped his lucked pulled him to a path that would be helpful. As evidenced through the experiences that he had undergone throughout his life, Kiritsugu did not have much luck.

Kiritsugu sighed, he took a step into the Emiya residence, he had smelt something cooking, it was most likely breakfast. While Shirou had a talent for the culinary arts, he had no personal interest in it, nevertheless, what he made was still a pleasure to consume. As a father, Kiritsugu had wished for both his children to obtain blissful lives, but by his abilities, Kiritsugu resigned himself with trying his best that he could with Shirou with the time he had left. There was not much he could be able to do for his other child after all...

* * *

Kiritsugu had returned in the morning, he had spent the day recovering and after the coming home celebration that Taiga had spontaneously decided needed to happen after coming over, he had asked Shirou to meet at the yard after Taiga had left. Kiritsugu had wished to talk to Shirou about his Magecraft.

At the yard Kiritsugu had pulled out a box containing a small black rod. This was his only result of his Journey. It was something he had found that was thought to be useless but Kiritsugu had recalled an experience during his past career with a Magus culture in Africa that had utilized such a rod for a unique ritual. The rod once removed from the case was heavily saturated with magical energy. It looked on the edge of overloading. While it was pure black, it possessed a formless but crystalline property not unlike a jewel.

"This is an Yliaster Rod, it is made out of ether, the fifth element and through alchemy imbued with the essence of Yliaster."

"Yliaster, is a type of formless energy, it is a factor, concept derived from alchemy. It represents a formless origin in which alchemy can be conducted."

"Through its representation and energy, it will allow us to conduct a ritual which will open a miniscule connection to the root, allowing for us to know your Origin. Now quickly step into the magical circle that I made."

Shirou stepped into the circle. It was a simple circle containing a five-pointed star. The circle was drawn with chalk. Directly in front of Shirou, the rod was placed down, at the other four points of the star, there were metal buckets containing a lit fire, a bucket of water and a bucket of dirt. The final bucket was empty but likely could be used to represent a container for air. Around the yard in strange locations, the strange items that Kiritsugu had asked Shirou to purchase were present, Kiritsugu had lit them up with a strange blue fire that had not burnt the items.

"While as a Magus conducting a ritual, one would conduct it in a workshop preferably adequately isolated from the outside world in order to reduce interference, the reason we are not conducting this ritual within the thick walls of the Shed is due to this ritual being rather unique."

Shirou was silent through Kiritsugu's lecture on the ritual. Absorbing the information greedily. The book he had read had enhanced his already slight interest towards the topic of Origins, now he was presented with a chance of awakening his Origin. He had no reservations, he cleared his mind and tried to entrance himself into a serene state. Magical rituals were to be taken seriously or great peril would befall the victim who disregarded what it meant to be a Magus.

"Now, activate your magical circuits."

Shirou activated his magical circuits and adjusted his breathing patterns, he made sure that that the magical energy flowing through all of the twenty-seven circuits were as smooth and pure as possible. Kiritsugu stood outside at the base of the star in front of the rod and started chanting.

_With Fire, the connection is sparked…_

The flames in the bucket erupted, blazing higher and faster than before, there was a faint red glow in the magical circle.

_With Water, I establish the flow…_

The water in the bucket started flowing around in a circle, creating a vortex in the bucket. The glow in the magical circle brightened and changed to a light blue glow.

_With Earth, the connection is strengthened…_

The dirt in the pail started rattling, some pieces of dirt getting out of the bucket. The glow once again changed, it lit up and switched into a brown glow.

_With Air, the connection is projected…_

There was a gust of wind and air started gathering around the bucket even becoming visible. The glow brightened to the level of a lightbulb and stabilised into a white glow.

_With Ether, I manifest the connection, may the connections resonate and reveal the reality…_

The glow changed in colour for the final time, turning the brightness into a blackish purple glow.

Shirou felt his circuits at full output, they were straining from the sudden surge of power, he was calm however, his breathing steady.

He felt a final rush of power, his circuits straining to the point of bursting, for a moment he had thought he blacked out. He felt a bond to an otherworldly location that had felt more abstract than an actual place. He doubted that he would be able to pinpoint it even if he were a first-rate adult Magus of an advanced skill; the connection was but an instant but it had felt right. Indecipherable information rushed through his head and when the rush of power had ended, he had fallen to his knees.

Shirou blinked, his head straining to keep him looking upright, he saw that the magical circle had disappeared, so had the buckets. He saw his father walking quickly towards him, looking concerned. Shirou had maintained a steady respiration cycle throughout the ritual but his lungs were now demanding more oxygen even when it was already full. It was an intense sensation.

The ritual had worked, Shirou had collapsed but he had indeed received a rush of information in the form of vague sensations. It was not through steps that Shirou could describe what he had learned, he had just known instinctively the moment the ritual ended. That was not the priority however, in opening the connection to the root, no matter how minute, it had resulted in information about his Origin being granted to Shirou. The means of transport however were through magical energy… pure untainted magical energy of the highest potency directly from Akasha.

The ritual had just ended but Shirou had felt an intense agony. Never had such potent magical energy in such amounts filled his 27 magical circuits. If Shirou had waited but a second more, the energy would be summoned back to the Root. However, Shirou was under agony, he had felt pain before, but this was of a different variety.

When Shirou had first activated his circuits, it had felt like a small electric shock. His father had cautioned him about not straining his circuits in fear of hindering their future development, as such that was the only time where he had felt a sense of pain in his circuits for, he had no need nor desire to needlessly stress them.

He had felt greater pain from the fire as he could recall vividly. But this was a different sort of pain, instead of an external pain, this had felt as though he was going to explode from the magical pressure inside him. It was but for a single moment, but it was nonetheless unbearable.

Strained by this sensation, Shirou currently possessed one wish, he wished for relief, he wished that the pain would end, he wished that he was eased from the pain. And with that wish made, his twenty-seven circuits lit up at maximum output, and with a desire for relief, supported by an instant with the power of the Vortex of Radix…

_Relief was willed into existence…_

An object, taking the form of a scarf materialized into existence and gently wrapped itself around Shirou's neck. Shirou had been granted a reprieve from the unbearable pain that was in his magical circuits. In that moment, Shirou felt a soothing pleasant warmth. He felt as if all his worries went away. He had felt great, refreshed and content.

Shirou would have said that at the moment the scarf wrapped around his neck that he had felt better than he ever had if not the fact that it was untrue. He recalled one such incident. It was at the moment where he had woken up from surviving the fire. He felt the exact same sensation currently. It was different though, there was the sense that this sensation, this feeling would not leave him, that it would not just stay for an instant, that as long as he desired, it would continue providing him… relief…

"Shirou… How are you feeling? "

Kiritsugu had caught up, he had helped Shirou in standing back up. It was in a span of seconds but the Magus Killer had witnessed the events of his son in temporary agony and falling to his knees, he had been concerned, he had then witnessed a royal blue scarf with golden decorations materialise and wrap around his son. It had seemed that whatever had plagued his son had immediately seeped out of his being.

Kiritsugu was also rather relieved. While for a Magus with adequate knowledge, finding one's origin was relatively easy, however it either required the correct magical tools or intense pain. He himself had undergone a ritual to determine his Origin through using pieces of his crushed ribs, however he was not conscious while it was happening and the information had to be imparted to him rather than learning it himself.

"Swords and… Swords and Concepts…" Shirou replied, he had not gained any tangible information that he would be able to recite directly but somehow, he knew in his very being that as long as he possessed the correct knowledge and ability he would be able to manifest mysteries regarding the form of his abilities.

"Sword?" Kiritsugu inquired. It was replied with a nod from his son. Kiritsugu looked contemplative, it was long a held discovery that Origins mostly manifested themselves in abstract forms. He had not known that an Origin could be a physical object. He also noted that his son possessed a dual Origin like himself.

While Origins were supposed to be immensely private, as part of a soul of a Magus, the research into Origins had been quite widely documented. While dual Origins were not extremely rare, just unusual, they tended to resonate and be of a similar nature to each other. His own Origin of Severing and binding was related no matter how unfortunate the effects were. It was an important observation to note that Shirou's Origins were seemingly unrelated. Kiritsugu was not sure what to make of such an observation but his instincts had told him that it was an important observation.

He wondered how had his son's Origin would affect him in different ways. In another way, it had seemed that one of his Origins had already started affecting him. The effects would certainly provide an explanation as to how his son had been able to project a noble phantasm albeit at a high cost of magical energy even with an advanced process. While Shirou's improvement on the relatively useless skill of Graduation Air had served to improve as well as streamline the process, it would not provide a regular Magus with the strangest and desirable ability to project a Noble Phantasm. It was known that as long as one produces Magecraft corresponding with one's Origin, it could be greatly boosted by the individual's connection to the root through their Origin when performing that specific aspect or type of Magecraft. That was the only and most obvious reason as to the cause of the ability of the younger Emiya.

"What is that?" Kiritsugu questioned, he put the thought of the discovery of his son's Origin at rest, more concerned about how an object even one as harmless as a piece of clothing had appeared out of nowhere upon the completion of the ritual.

There was not much to be expected from the ritual. It created a temporary but limited connection to the Root for the individual which would through the anchor to his or her Origin, agitate and awaken the Origin as well as provide knowledge of it. There were cases where the individual upon awakening his or her Origin through the ritual would unconsciously attempt Magecraft corresponding with the Origin but this situation was slightly irregular.

"I don't know, I think it was somehow projected by me… I'm not quite sure how I had done it without meaning to but I don't think it is dangerous…" Shirou replied with a small shake of his head, not comprehending the presence of the object but somewhat expecting the question based on his father's thought process.

Shirou removed the scarf around his neck, he placed it on his hand. He tried to gather magical energy from his circuits to cast a structural analysis spell on the object. His circuits were empty, even his Od was at a minimal level. He concentrated his breathing and gathered enough mana in his circuits before casting the spell.

It had required almost no energy to analyze the scarf even in his deprived state, there was no structure to the scarf at the internal level, the scarf was not empty thought it felt like it but it was rather a shell for something. This meant that it was probably a product of graduation air. What was strange however was that it was undergoing no rejection from Gaia. When Shirou had projected and analyzed the projected object, apart from the obvious observations about the structure of the object, he was provided with the knowledge that the object would fade away and that the object did not belong in the natural order of things, being made out of air. The scarf however had felt permanent, akin to an object made naturally. Beyond that, it had also felt everlasting, like whatever could be done it and it would still be able to exist, a contradiction to the nature of the Scarf. He had told his father as much, only getting a slight frown.

Structural analysis had provided him with nothing. It had told him that he was the creator of the scarf and that it had just been created. His instinct however had provided him with extra information. It was unknown how, but he just knew that the scarf was relief. Possibly from what he experienced, the ultimate form of relief, even.

"My circuits are empty of both Od and Mana from making the projection, however something tells me that this scarf somehow is relief. As in the idea that this scarf is the exact embodiment of what feeling one would attribute to relief. This would explain why the pain from the ritual suddenly subsided… It could have been an ability manifesting as a result of my Origin that allowed me to create an object out of a concept."

"Hmmm…" Kiritsugu hummed, not having much insight that he could provide in response, he had known that Origins could provide its users with abilities, he had experienced it and used it to his own benefit in his line of work after all. However, it was an Origin differing from his own and not much was publicly known about the manifesting of aspects of Origins into mysteries. He dared not offer some potentially harmful advice to his son.

"Why don't we turn in for today, Shirou? It will be better to rest after such an experience."

Shirou nodded as a reply, he turned around in the direction of his room, having a smile as he walked, touched by the concern of his father. He clutched the scarf to his neck, tying it around carefully. He was once again enveloped with its warmth. He went to bed, content with the results of the day. He was too exhausted both from his magical supply being emptied and a strange mental exhaustion to think too much on the events of the day…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:  
> Shirou reflects on his encounters with the female magus, allowing us to get a deeper insight into his motivations, as well as the degree of the conviction towards obtaining the help he needs in discovering the nature of and potentially curing Kiritsugu's Magical curse. In learning the degree of his conviction towards the well-being of Kiritsugu, we also see his thoughts on the elder Emiya and the degree of attachment towards Kiritsugu. It is important to recall that he was effectively born at the age of seven after losing or suppressing his memories, as such he is but a baby hatchling with regards to noticing and recognizing his own feelings even with a sensation as simple as concern towards an individual. Shirou has a strong attachment towards Kiritsugu that could hint toward his later descisions. One must take note of the distinction that rather than like canon Shirou who is also attached to Kiritsugu, this Shirou's attachment has no link whatsoever toward wanting to emulate his savior.  
> Shirou is also slightly apprehensive towards the aspect of having to deal with Rin in the future. He doesn't know where he stands with her and really doesn't care how he is regarded in her eyes. However, he wants there to be no conflict that could hinder his path of trying to help Kiritsugu. He will keep this line of thought in mind first for his future interactions with Rin.  
> This is a shameless and unsubtle attempt of inserting Shirou into his future path and discovering his path in Magecraft by giving him such a method of discovering his Origin but really it is the fastest way that I could drift him towards the main points of my story. I could have engineered a different incident and expended the story to the wider world of Type-Moon and Magi or even OCs but I would just be writing myself into a hole later on in the story. Besides, I quite like the manner in which I introduce him to his Origins. To expend the story would be to disregard what happens with his regular pre Holy Grail War Life and throw him into the thick of things but this way allows me to expend on the line of plot of Shirou's attachment towards his father and Kiritsugu's illness. This also provides an interesting parallel towards regular Shirou in that this Shirou is more aware and observant and a hypothetical universe in which canon Shirou notices Kiritsugu's failing health could be interesting for his reactions alone.  
> While Kiritsugu fails on his journey to retrieve Illya once again, he comes home with something positive for once. A unique ritual in which I devised according to canon rules. I find the challenge of working with canon rather than breaking canon or around canon more interesting.  
> While in the beginning of the Story Shirou has already awakened both his Origins after the implantation of Avalon, to awaken his Origin and be consciously aware of his Origin is a different thing. Considering all canon example of individuals who have awakened their Origins have also been aware of it, I don't suppose my approach breaks or intrudes on canon.  
> Also here are some details towards Shirou's tracing of the "scarf".  
> During the ritual, a link to the Root is formed. Due to his Origin and the awakening his Origins, he is able to pull on the infinite energy from the Root but in a single instant. He pulls pure and large amounts of energy from the root in order to grant his 'wish/desire'. Due to his Origins, assisted with the Root, he manifests the Physical Embodiment of Relief in the form of a scarf.  
> This is basically the maximum potential of Shirou's powers or will be for a while. Basically it's just a scarf but its also a object of the same tier as Avalon and Ea in which its the actual concept of a thing. Like literally nothing will provide more of 'relief' than the scarf the scarf is actually the embodiment of everything that is relief. The only perks are that it can't be destroyed and that it will provide relief.  
> However, as useless as the scarf is, while it is a physical concept of relief, to experience relief beyond not feeling pain is also to not be actively dying. As such, beyond the Main concept that is the Mechanism of the manifestation of the peak of Shirou's powers, most objects have secondary uses. Due to this, beyond a primary concept in which the scarf is best at, a secondary concept of relief is to not be actively dying even if you're feeling peachy. Thus, the scarf provides a secondary healing ability which will heal all wounds that doesn't kill Shirou. Lancers spear will still gut Shirou like a fish. It might shrug off Rin's Grandr's though. So I suppose that the Scarf provides relief from all wounds, heals some wounds and provides a minor (B- rank) Magical resistance.  
> Its a useful object but nothing game breaking. It still is fueled by the power of Akasha though so I suppose its abilities seem apt.


	8. The Journey for Providence, Part 4

It was morning. The sun peeked through the translucent layer of the paper doors that had made up the traditional look of the Emiya residence. It was the morning after the ritual. Shirou blinked and opened his eyes slowly, feeling lethargic and for once getting the sensation of a full night's rest. He was sore, unbearably sore across his entire body. However, he was sore everywhere somehow without the dull ache that should resonate throughout his entire body. He was sore from his bones to his muscles, that much he could determine but the sensations that his body were giving him instead were pleasant in nature. As much as he lacked the experience, he doubted that this was the result of a good night's sleep. He had not heard of anything that mentioned that adequate sleep could nullify soreness. If anything, there were mentions of too much sleep causing soreness. He was extremely confused right at this moment. His body was providing the information and he was getting the correct awareness and sensations from feeling the movement of his fingers and toes but he was not feeling the undesirable sensation of what his body was informing him and apparently suffering from.

Shirou looked around his room, trying to get up. The sun seemed to be relatively normal today, not being overly bright nor obscured by clouds. It felt like it would be a pleasant day. He bent both his limbs and attempted to get up.

" **Oof**!" Shirou let out a whine at falling down like a failing chicken. His manner of getting up had been incredibly undignified. He had gotten his limbs entangled somehow and in a state of immense confusion had waved his limbs around uselessly before hitting the ground.

After collapsing into the floor, Shirou raised his torso from the floor and gave his head a good vigorous shake. He gained his bearings and looked down at his body, attempting to locate the cause of the uncharacteristic clumsiness.

He saw that his bed-sheets were somehow in a knot with what seemed like a light sky-blue scarf. His bed-sheets were twisted tightly in what appeared to be in five directions and the scarf was coiled around the bed-sheets tightly. The scarf was incredibly stretched and it was a miracle it did not tear. A portion of the scarf not attached to the bed-sheets was instead tied around his ankles. Upon seeing the scarf, he recalled the events of what had happened before turning in.

Getting his first proper look at the scarf that he 'made', he saw that when not wrapped around his neck, it was about the length of his body at the age of ten. Although Shirou was still nowhere the height that he hoped he would be in the future and was relatively tall for a boy of ten, the scarf had still seemed slightly too long.

Shirou looked around the room, unused to the level of sunlight after waking up. He looked at the clock on top of his dresser and saw that it was pointing to eight. Shirou blinked, momentarily thrown off by the time, it was hours after he would ordinarily get up. Though he was but ten and had not yet entered the Japanese education system, he was not a late riser. He did turn in much earlier than he regularly did due to the ritual and it seemed that even that wasn't sufficient for the ritual seemed like it had taken more out of him than he thought.

Shirou shook his head, chastising himself for his deposition. He then shot his head up at the clock again and went rigid. It was way past the time of breakfast. He should have been preparing it hours ago. God forbid if Kiritsugu attempted to conjure up whatever unholy demon that would arise from his inability to cook.

Shirou quickly got up again and went on his way to start his morning ritual. Upon reaching the door, he looked back at his futon. It had seemed like he was truly off his wits today. He hadn't even remembered to store his futon and bedsheets back in the cupboard. The reminder also alerted him to the scarf he was still dragging by his ankle. He shook his head once again and went to clean up and begin his morning ritual, wrapping the scarf around his neck unconsciously…

* * *

Shirou entered the living room, Kiritsugu was sitting by the table, a cup of tea and a few boxes in front of him. It had seemed that Kiritsugu had ordered delivery for breakfast, this allowed Shirou to give himself a sigh of relief internally. He went to take a seat in front of his father.

"Shirou, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Ah, Kiritsugu, I am feeling okay, if a bit exhausted. Sorry for oversleeping, I should have prepared breakfast hours ago."

"Its fine Shirou, you were spent after the ritual, I anticipated this possibility happening due to the ritual and once you had not woken up at the usual time, I made preparations. It was no trouble to order from the outside once in a while. You already have done too much to compensate for my inability as a parent. Tuck in, you must be hungry."

Shirou gave a nod to his father and pulled one of the boxes in front of him. Starting to eat, he had a look at Kiritsugu and saw that he looked slightly weaker than when he last saw him. It seemed that whatever eating away at him was relentless. It must eat away at him slowly however, for his posture was still straight though, no doubt trying to keep a regular appearance. He seemed to be in thought, eyes staring focused at the windows.

It took no time at all for Shirou to get through his meal, it had seemed that Kiritsugu's prediction was right, he was hungry.

"You are still wearing the scarf?" Kiritsugu questioned.

Shirou looked down and felt the presence of the scarf around his neck. He had not thought to intentionally put the scarf on. He was at home, it would be silly to wear the scarf, especially since the weather was still pleasant. After removing the scarf from his ankle earlier, he had not thought to put it away and had immediately wrapped it around his neck. Shirou could not bring himself to regret the decision, even now with the vast length of the scarf wrapped around his neck, the pleasant weight of the scarf around his neck was felt. The excess heat that should have been a result of wearing such an outerwear was not present however. It was fortunate, for that would have made Shirou supremely uncomfortable.

Shirou put his hands around his neck, unwrapping the scarf and folding it. He placed it on the table and slid it in front of Kiritsugu, he immediately missed the pleasant feeling the scarf had provided him.

"Kiritsugu, what is the deal with this scarf?"

The elder Emiya picked up the scarf and looked at it. He moved one of his hands atop the scarf and muttered the name of a spell in German that Shirou had not learnt. A green magic circle appeared atop the scarf. It rotated for several cycles until fading away.

"Well, whatever it is, it is not truly physical. The spell I used is one of high-level Alchemy meant to decipher an object into its comprising materials. While the scarf is truly projected, it is still a magical object of the highest grade. If my judgement were to be correct, this is akin to a true crystallized mystery and a perhaps even a Noble Phantasm."

"Noble Phantasm? Can you truly call a scarf that?"

"Shirou, you know Noble Phantasms can be items, they don't just have to be swords. However, the debate on the status of the scarf is not important but the important thing is that you can feel assured that it is safe to keep."

Shirou rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, chastised at the reminder from his father. It seemed that even with his father's constant warnings of not being too narrow minded as a Magus, he had still made a folly.

"You know, … you are much better at magecraft than I was at your age… I was never any good as a Magus and understanding the intricacies of magecraft… I was always more of just a spellcaster…"

"My father used to have an assistant to help in his projects. She was much better than me. At the age of fourteen, two years older than me, she had already replicated an experiment to stop the flow of time without much knowledge as a Magus."

Shirou was silent, listening to his father. Kiritsugu had never talked about his past and Shirou never asked. Kiritsugu had a withdrawn deposition, but he had often gone out of his way to discourage any questions of his past. Shirou, taking it as a quirk of his father, never went out of his way to discover more. It was rare of his father to volunteer information like this.

"What happened to her? She must be a great Magus by now?" Shirou inquired, struck by what her perceived of the incredible act of stopping time. He did not know if his father had possessed the ability to do that much in his prime. He believed that such an individual would have made waves in the world of Magi at her current age.

"I don't know… We never stayed in contact when I left the village to go on my quest…" Kiritsugu had mentioned this with a slightly sombre tone.

"Your quest?" Shirou was curious. Was this quest that Kiritsugu went on at such a young age related to goal of the trips that his father went on regularly?

"Ah yes…", Kiritsugu displayed a faint smile, "When I was young, I wanted to be a Hero of Justice, to help save as many innocents as I could… But being a Hero of Justice is a childish ideal, for an opportunity to occur to save someone, that person must suffer from a calamity, for every life I managed to spare from disaster, there will always be another person that I missed."

Shirou was silent, upon reflecting on his dream, Kiritsugu had gained a melancholy expression, it seemed that this topic was extremely near and dear to him. Shirou felt that his father must have been personally affected by such a philosophy to develop such a bittersweet expression from reminiscing his childhood dream. What Kiritsugu had confessed had peaked his interest however. He decided to prod Kiritsugu to elaborate more to provide an insight into what he had learned a few months back.

"What did you do as a Hero of Justice?"

"…" Kiritsugu was silent, contemplating an answer. Shirou was also silent, holding his breath for his father's reply.

"Shirou… You must remember what I told you about Magi… Now that you are older, I believe I can tell you more… While you know that Magi are cold towards other Magi and will do anything to keep their research private and secret, Magi are also cruel beings. While there are many good people who are a Magus, in the world of Magi, there are more individuals willing to do whatever it took to reach the root. And these consequences are often not paid by themselves. It is not uncommon for a Magi to bind or enchant a non-magical individual into suffering for their experiments…"

"Most times when a Magi conducts an experiment, lives are lost… Even human lives in the eyes of a Magus are a needed sacrifice for their goals… While the Mage's association will often turn a blind eye to such crimes, there are often times where individuals are called in to solve the problem when the Magus involved goes too far…"

"I was specialized in combat, while I never worked directly under the Mage's association or the church, I was often called in to defeat such individuals… I never managed to save enough of them from the actions of such selfish Magi…"

Kiritsugu drifted off… he took a final sip of his tea and looked at Shirou.

"Ah, Shirou… I should stop reminiscing in my old age and leave you with a bit of time to process what you learned about your Origins in the ritual. It must take you some time to process the implications of your Origin…"

Kiritsugu got up and walked out of the room, leaving Shirou to his thoughts. It seemed that Kiritsugu had mostly told the truth, albeit watered down and simplified. It looked as though he wished to avoid the topic. Shirou thought about Kiritsugu's motivations… While he knew some of what his father had done in his younger days, he had not been able to obtain much of a clue with regards to Kiritsugu's motivations. It seemed like his father had chased a noble dream. A large part of Shirou admired Kiritsugu's dream, what he admired more was that Kiritsugu had a definite goal in life at his age.

Since the fire and losing his memories, Shirou had to start over with a clean slate. However, through starting at a clean slate, Shirou had never felt very fulfilled. Though he supposed he managed to imitate the role of an average person well enough, he nonetheless felt very empty. There were many moments in which Shirou felt that he was a farce of a human being. Due to this, he resolved to discover and satisfy whatever he desired. This was why he felt that he had such an interest and attachment towards magecraft. While studying and researching magecraft took occupied his time and emotions for a while. He did not believe there was ever a single moment since the fire where he felt complete. It seemed that satisfying his desires were not enough. He had to have a definite goal as a human being. It was in this that he admired Kiritsugu, for he was not had a responsibility, things to do. Sometimes, Shirou felt that he was a waste of space… That he was unworthy of being saved by Kiritsugu…

* * *

He powered on his magical circuits, he controlled his breathing at a steady pace, consciously dispersing his magical energy at a spot between two trees. Shirou imagined a burst of bright light, spreading its brilliance across all directions in but an instant. With the mental trigger activated, a red magical circle appeared spinning around his wrists. A translucent barrier sprung up, covering up the gap between the trees. Shirou relaxed the output, anchoring the barrier to the trees and allowing for the natural mana of the world to take up the burden of the spell.

Shirou took a few steps back, he traced a throwing knife. Reinforcing the knife with the intent of improving its toughness, he felt his od filling up every possible gap within the inner structure of the knife. He then launched the knife at the barrier with the intent of shattering it. His muscles were also reinforced, lines criss-crossing across his arms, the physical visual representation of the twenty-seven circuits located within his soul lighting up with a faint green glow.

The knife flew at a speed of a bullet, within but a moment it had hit the barrier and produced a metallic sound. The knife was then deflected back in his direction, almost hitting Shirou on the way back.

Shirou picked the knife up and analyzed it. The knife was remarkably intact for such a heavy impact. It seemed like his reinforcement had worked but it had nonetheless failed to penetrate or shatter the barrier like Shirou had intended. It proved that Shirou's conjectures were right, while the bounded field that he had created was not particularly formidable, a regular object albeit reinforced would fail to do anything to the barrier. The reinforcement had achieved its use by preventing the knife from shattering, but it had not been particularly useful beyond that.

The Emiya residence was rather sparse in terms of magical resources. While Shirou had been successful in persuading Kiritsugu to purchase books on magical theories and his multiple trips, it was nowhere near enough for the young Emiya's thirst for knowledge, as such lacking a viable path he had resorted to testing and learning more on magical theories by discovering them himself through practical methods. The few books that Shirou possessed on bounded fields had mentioned that being a product of magecraft, regardless of power, as long as the barrier was tangible, it would be exponentially more resistant to non-magical items as compared to magical items or spells.

It seemed that while objects could be reinforced by magical energy, they still lacked the qualities of a magical object to be able to overcome the natural resistances of even a basic bounded field.

Shirou projected another copy of the knife he had earlier, dismissing the earlier copy. This time, he reinforced the knife and altered the knife by altering it sharper and pointier. While altering the structure in such a way would compromise its toughness, perhaps it stood a better chance against the bounded field. Shirou raised his arm and got to throwing the knife once more.

This time the knife sunk slightly into the barrier before shattering, producing a crack in the barrier. While the natural principles that a sharper and pointier object stood a better chance at penetration still applied, the effect was still reduced and nullified against the barrier.

"Tsk" Shirou clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. While the effects were expected, he was still mildly annoyed with having to test out magical theories himself to gain a better understanding of magecraft due to his lack of educational resources.

With but an idle thought and a prodding from his intuition that had so helped him across his life, he retraced a new knife and reinforced and altered it, this time with the firm intent of shattering the barrier. While he had already gotten the results, it was always better to check multiple times to ensure the accuracy.

" _Shatter_!" Shirou grunted, expecting the same results but suffering from the annoyance of the act. A moment before the knife was released from his hand, a blue magical circle containing a diamond spinning around manifested. This was unnoticed by Shirou for what he took notice of a moment later was the act of the knife penetrating the shattering the barrier. The knife continued to fly and was landed in a patch of grass, sinking into the ground.

Shirou was shocked. He had not expected anything like this to happen. It was the same exact situation of the previous attempt, why would there be a variation much less a change of the result so drastically?

He walked up to the patch of grass and pulled out the knife. He lit his magical circuits up and analyzed the knife once again. It had suffered no damage from the impact of the barrier whatsoever. Even a successful attempt of penetrating the barrier should have come as a cost to the structural integrity of the knife. The knife was unscathed. The magical energy the knife was radiating was also two times higher than it should have been. The amount of reinforcement applied to the knife was still the same as compared to the failed attempt however. Shirou took focused his senses and analyzed the knife more closely with similar results. The spell was still telling him the same thing. His gut apparently knew more however by prodding Shirou to look beyond the spell.

Shirou narrowed his eyes and was about to dismiss the feeling when he noticed an abstract sense of what felt like purpose imbued in the knife. It was utterly baffling, the only other time Shirou had noticed such a phenomenon was when interacting with his scarf…

This led Shirou to recall the discovery of his Origin, he not assumed that the awakening of his Origin had done much to him and he had not yet considered a method in which he could take advantage of his Origin in magecraft yet. It was not a major issue, for most Magi tended to have generic Origins that would not be able to assist in their magecraft unless in specific cases. He had begun noticing a pattern in the past three day however. Upon awakening his Origin, everything that he had touched and interacted with had somehow felt more useful to him. Even the knife's in which he regularly used to prepare meals had somehow felt meaningful. Shirou had previously dismissed it but now that he reconsidered his findings, there was a possibility that his awakened Origin of 'concepts' had allowed him to be aware of the concept in everything.

All objects had a use, even the materials the objects were formed out of had a use. Wood was once a branch or a tree trunk, both were useful parts of a tree. A table had a use, a purpose that involved in being a place to rest objects on. As everything had a purpose and thus an inherent function or principle, each object had an intrinsic concept behind it. The only exception were objects made from graduation air which had less of a reason to exist especially due to the active rejection from the world. As such, for the knife to feel like this it must have somehow gained an additional function that was the reason it existed, a 'concept' behind the properties of the knife.

Now intrigued, Shirou looked intently at the knife, trying to feel for an intangible sensation or concept of the knife. While what Shirou was feeling was incredibly vague and abstract, he knew or had the ambiguous instinct that the inherent concept of the knife was 'to shatter'. Shirou recalled his grunt of frustration and furrowed his eyebrows. He had several conjectures to what he had just did and many many more questions. It was at this moment that Shirou once again lamented his options of lacking in magical resources until he nearly felt like giving himself a slap for a revelation had just struck him. He had made a deal with a Magus. A female Magus in possession of a dwelling that contained lots of magical resources…

* * *

Shirou peaked around the corner, entering the Tohsaka mansion from the front entrance was daring considering that the bounded fields were active but it seemed that the female Magus was not home. Shirou took a look around. It was his second time in the Tohsaka mansion but he was occupied in the first attempt and the female magus was in so he was left without free reign and time to properly get a look around.

The mansion was clean and organized, but most areas seemed to be in disuse, as though she was not spending the majority of the time within the living areas of the mansion. The mansion was lacking of dust however, especially considering she lived alone without and without servants to assist in chores. It was probably cleaned with the usage of magecraft due to the consistency of the cleaning even across the ceiling and walls. That was a use of magecraft Shirou had not been able to learn not from a lack of skill but rather a lack of materials. It was far better for Shirou to spend his time researching topics he felt was useful rather than dedicating his time to create a spell for a frivolous act such as getting out of cleaning. The Tohsaka's were not in a situation such as his though and likely had dozens of books alone containing the usage of mundane spells to assist in a household environment. Shirou made a mental note to grab a such a book if he was able to locate it.

Shirou entered the study. It also doubled as a library. It was rather sparse with four walls full of books and a wooden study table at the back. It was also rather spartan beyond its function, lacking of magical items or paintings to showcase wealth or prestige befitting the status of the Tohsaka family.

Shirou ignited his circuits and uttered a spell silently, two magical circles spun up in both his hands. Shirou, spread his magical energy throughout the room, dissipating it as thin as possible, making sure to cover every surface of a book. With but his intent conferred through the spell, he was able to obtain the manner of organization and general contents of the books in the room.

It seemed that the books in the room were uniformly harmless in nature and contained non-magical and magical tomes. The magical tomes displayed volumes in hundreds to topics, specific topic or generic magical manuscripts. While they contained a diverse amount of knowledge, it was an obvious assessment that the books contained within the study were less valuable and dangerous. Nonetheless, it contained what Shirou was looking for at this very moment. Shirou walked up to a shelf and removed several volumes on bounded fields and the basic art of Material Transmutation.

With his purpose fulfilled, Shirou walked out of the study and to the staircase. He then walked to the first level in front of the staircase leading to the basement workshop, located in another part of the mansion. Shirou felt that the mansion had a cold and lonely aura attached to it. He noted that it must have been foreboding living here alone as a child at the age of ten. Even the Emiya residence had felt more welcoming and homely with its wider traditional Japanese layout compared to this European mansion.

Shirou walked into the basement, a few steps down the stairs later, Shirou took a step back. He had felt something, a concentration of magical energy in front of him. While he had theorized that the basement workshop likely had a stronger bounded field compared to the house the last time he was here, this bounded field would be much harder to get past. For one, it lacked an anchor to extend its boundaries. This removed an avenue in which the young Emiya could exploit and get past the bounded field.

The concentration of magical energy also had a dangerous feel to it, likely bringing harm or even being lethal towards the unlucky soul intending to enter it. Shirou felt that this bounded field was above his level. He lacked enough skill of knowledge as a Magus at this particular moment to even attempt to bypass the magical barrier. It was better to be cautious he felt, for if he tried and was likely unsuccessful, he would be gravely affected by the barrier.

While it was a sensible decision to turn back and return home, there was still a part of Shirou that felt that it would be a good choice to try anyway. He had wandered the Tohsaka mansion and had not found the books that he would require to help Kiritsugu. A family like the Tohsaka undoubtably had a wider selection of magical possessions that what he had observed in the library. What he required would be in the stores within the basement.

If it were any other situation, Shirou would have made a half-hearted but cautious attempt to penetrate the barrier. On the contrary though, he had made a deal with the female magus and as long as he met her again, she would be bound to allow him access into the basement workshop especially with the contents of the Geis requiring him to assist him as a magical assistant.

Shirou decided to make away with his 'loaned' books and return home before the female magus decided caught him in the act. Even with a deal in place, Shirou felt reluctant to make further contact with her, unsure exactly as to the manner of approach he should undertake…

* * *

Shirou made several more trips to the Tohsaka mansion the same week, managing to suss out the schedule of the female Tohsaka to take advantage of her absences from the mansion in order to obtain appropriate sections of magical data that he was interested in. Through the trips, he had managed to discover what he had achieved with his magical experiment. It appeared that his prior knowledge of reinforcement being a common but hard to master spell was true. He had however lacked the deeper insight that when a magus reinforced something, he or she was also enhancing the meaning of existence of the object.

Due to his Origin, he was able to enhance and even give an object a more definite meaning of existence. He was also able to give an object a 'concept', thereby effectively providing an existing object with a new purpose and meaning of existence. Allowing for objects to be more effective with regards to the new 'purpose' and 'concept' of the object. It appeared that similar to his version of projection but with sharp objects 'tracing' he was able to take the basic version of the elementary magecraft techniques to much higher levels due to his Origin.

On his trips, he had returned what he pilfered every time but with even with the caution he was displaying, in his excitement through each journey about his discoveries with regards to his personal magecraft, it was inevitable that through his multiple trips he would leave around traces of his magical energy…

* * *

"Argh! Yet again!" Rin cried out, infuriated by the situation. It was the fourth time this week that she was missing a book that she possessed. Different books with differing contents were constantly going missing and getting returned throughout the course of the week. Those were not tomes the Rin regularly browsed. No, her magical education was currently being taken up by her guardian, Kirei Kotomine. Ever since he was granted guardianship over her after the Holy Grail War, he had requested that she went to the church for her tutorage.

As loath as Rin were to admit it, Kirei was a rather capable individual to choose as her guardian, at least only with regards of the theoretical aspects of magecraft. Kirei was a true third-rate Magus without even real magical circuits. Even at the age of ten, Rin would already be able to successfully perform and exceed any spell that Kirei attempted and failed to invoke. The fake priest had absolutely no talent whatsoever in magecraft except for spiritual healing, which was in regular circumstances, a useless skill. He however possessed the knowledge of a first-rate Magus while lacking in experience.

The priest of Fuyuki had studied all aspects of magecraft under her father's tutorage. He possessed the theoretical knowledge of Alchemy, Spiritual Evocation, Summoning, Divination, Necromancy and Spiritual healing at the highest levels. This was what ultimately her education under him boiled down to. Kirei would attempt to pass down the theory of the particular subject in his smug, insufferable manner and Rin would be left to stew at home for weeks attempting the practical aspects of the subject manner herself.

As a first-rate gifted Magus who was even an 'average one', a Magus possessing the affinity for all elements, Rin would be able to pick absorb and produce the results that Kirei so failed throughout his life to produce and within a short period of time, usually days or a week at most. Due to her distaste of her guardian, she was never in the mood to seek the priest out herself beyond the bi-monthly sessions and settled with spending the rest of the time practicing the Tohsaka magecraft.

Rin's routine involved gritting her teeth and picking up whatever lesson that she learnt from Kirei and then spending the rest of her time in the workshop mastering the flowing of transferring of magical energy and subsequently and spells recorded in the Magical crest of the Tohsaka. She also spent much of her time purifying and transferring magical energy into expensive jewels.

As a young family of two hundred years, while possessing a wide variety of spells due to the initial tutorage of her ancestor under the second magician as well as the constant amassing of magical spells due to the constant participation of the Holy Grail Wars, all of the spells were recognizable to Rin even at her age. As such, there was always something to keep her occupied and not needing to browse the many basic and moderate tomes that was in her study.

She was in a different situation recently however, there had been an intrusion into her property and she wished to improve the magical defenses of the Tohsaka bounded fields. She also hoped to coverup any loopholes that existed. This had required her to visit a subject she had long neglected in her short life as a Magus.

The first instance of the incident was when Rin was hunting for a book on bounded fields, Rin had noticed a discrepancy in her family's library. Several books were missing on the exact topic that she was searching for. She wouldn't have noticed it in any other situation, not devoting much time to check on the study, but it seemed that some of her books were lost. She tried combing around her house and had failed to locate the missing books. It appeared that the intruder had absconded with some materials.

It was fine, the young Magus thought, she had made a deal with the impudent male after all, however it was supremely rude to not pay a visit or acknowledge the presence of the owner before grabbing his side of the deal. The bigger annoyance was that he had obtained what Rin was seeking, forcing her to wait.

The second instance was on the next day. Rin had turned to the study after going for a purchase of what she needed for a magical exercise and had returned, seeking another book just to discover that what she needed once again was also missing. While the books on bounded fields were returned, in its place were several books on material transmutation. While reinforcement was a rather simple spell, it was extremely hard to push to its greatest extent and with her family constantly participating in magical combat, it was an essential skill for her to practice once in a while. It was just infuriating that once again the annoyance had deemed it convenient to procure what she needed at the particular moment.

The third and current instances were not as annoying as the tomes taken were not one's that she was needing currently but she had developed a habit of checking in the study everyday to see what the scoundrel the deemed it suitable to obtain today. It was getting more annoying each time this happened. Fortunately, Rin had discovered that each time the rascal came and gone; he had left traces of his magical energy behind.

This was it. Rin had hardened her convictions. She would set up a spell so that the next time the cursed traces of magical energy was detected at her residence, she would be there to confront him. Unfortunately, talented as Rin was, she would not be able to master the art of spatial transportation in the near future and thus she would have to be in the residence on that particular day in order to make her move. Well, that would be better approach anyway. Rin played with the idea of leaving a bait for the Emiya to enter into a space of her choosing. It would be a nice payback after what was done to her…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> This chapter starts off with the aftermath of the ritual that Shirou undergoes in order to discover his Origin. He wakes up feeling sore and exhausted and he recognizes that he should but the Scarf owing to its abilities prevents Shirou from getting the negative aspects of the sensation while retaining the information for Shirou to acknowledge the condition of his body. We also see the comfort level of the scarf such that Shirou subconsciously wraps it around his neck without even considering how hot such an act would be when not in a cold period of the year.
> 
> Kiritsugu express concern for Shirou and does a detailed analysis of the scarf through a Alchemy spell he learn from the Einzberns. There is not much more to be expressed after confirming that the scarf is not some cursed item.
> 
> Shirou's talent of projecting what Kiritsugu recognizes as a high level magical artifact however leads him to reminisce his younger days. We see Shirou get a deeper understanding into Kiritsugu's character as well as confirming what he saw in an earlier chapter. Kiritsugu tries to warn Shirou about the treacherous world of Magi as well as a slightly tame version of what his job as a hunter entailed. He also mentions the role of a Hero of Justice as well as the folly involved in wanting to be a Hero of Justice.
> 
> This is the first time we start to draw this version of Shirou closer to the canon version of Shirou and the differences are immediately apparent. This Shirou accepts Kiritsugu's mature outlook on the hypocrisy involved in claiming to be a Hero of Justice and Shirou in term displays his more mature outlook by acknowledging Kiritsugu's thoughts.
> 
> A thing of larger interest to invoke here is Shirou's internal thought of lacking a goal in life and being empty. What we must know that this much is same as canon Shirou. While he is not completely distorted, he still suffers from starting over with Amnesia. We see the parallels and similarities both with this Shirou and canon Shirou with interestingly Kirei of all people. It is interesting in that both Shirou and Kirei are completely distorted and get their outlook in life set in stone through the course of a Holy Grail War. The only difference is that Shirou is the light version of that while Kirei is the dark version of such a distortion. This Shirou runs a bit closer to Kirei's side since after the fire, in acceptance of his empty existence, he sets out to fulfill his selfish desires. However, contrary to Kirei his selfish desires are not able to fulfill his emptiness in life. It will also require a Holy Grail War to solve that Issue.
> 
> Shirou practices his magecraft and discovers the effect of awakening his Origin. Interestingly through the tidbit that reinforcement and alteration means to inject and improve the meaning of an objects existence, in an amusing similarity to projection, Shirou manages to take regular elementary magecraft to a much higher level through his Origin. Now the Trio of "useless" material transmutation magecraft is complete. Basically what this new magecraft entails is to inject new meaning when reinforcing an object, allowing it to perhaps be a hard counter through the 'concept' itself. That's how the reinforced throwing knife shatters a bounded field so easily. I felt that I explained that well enough in the chapter itself.
> 
> The explanation as to how he recognizes and makes use of such an ability quickly is basically he nicks books from Rin and through his Origin of 'Concepts' he gains a strong instinct toward deeper understanding of things.
> 
> Back to Rin, we discover that Shirou is not as sneaky as he thinks and that Rin is getting annoyed by Shirou's antics. We get a deeper insight into Rin's routines and current magical skills. We also discover the extent of her annoyance through the different ways I use to describe Shirou's in Rin's monologue.
> 
> Rin however discovers that Shirou leaves traces of Magical energy each time he comes and goes in order to bypass the main bounded field across the Tohsaka property. She gets annoyed and hatches up half a plan to repay him by pulling a sneaky on Shirou.


	9. The Journey for Providence, Part 5

Shirou was on another one of his trips. He was currently on the road to the Tohsaka Mansion. Compared to what he was able to obtain through his voyages, the effort required was not much at all. It was a short walk from the Emiya Residence to the Tohsaka Mansion. While the architecture was vastly different, with the dwellings surrounding the Emiya Residence being traditional houses styled and constructed with a Japanese theme and the dwellings around the Tohsaka Mansion being styled and constructed with a theme of European Nobility, both the places rested within the confines of the same side of Miyama Town within the greater Fuyuki City. It did not take Shirou long to trek to the Tohsaka Mansion. While the infrastructure wasn't as developed and modern as the Shinto district within Fuyuki, and public transport lacking, it had still been worth it for Shirou to make the trips.

Shirou entered the Tohsaka Mansion, getting around the main bounded fields by exploiting a flaw in the anchors that had allowed for the boundaries of the bounded field to be expended to include all of the residence. Another aspect that had allowed him to bypass the bounded fields were due to the bounded fields not being completely active. Shirou deduced that during the periods of the Holy Grail Wars, the full extent of the barriers would be unleashed but due to the role of the Tohsaka's as the second owner of the city, they had to be kept in a semi-active state on regular instances in order to be accessible to visitors. Granted, Shirou wasn't exactly an honored guest but rather an intruder, but he wasn't going to complain about the flaws if it allowed him access.

Shirou strode into the study, he had not bothered to check the rest of the residence, making a beeline to this location. There was not a need to. He had observed that the Tohsaka had left her abode at the same time every day to purchase daily necessities and resources for her magecraft. He supposed that she could simply buy more of what she needed on every trip but a reasonable assumption was made that the female magus had not wanted to stay cooped up within the mildly foreboding and cold atmosphere of the Tohsaka Mansion.

Shirou had not an agenda for his trip today, he had not finished the previous books yet and he was not here to return more of the books he had pilfered. He had simply gone here just to have an idle check on what books had interested him and what he had missed on his previous expeditions. As much as Shirou had an idea of the organization manner of the bookshelves, there was still a massive selection and he doubted that he had even browsed a percentage of what the library contained.

There was always a nagging feeling in Shirou's mind that what he was doing was extremely discourteous and devious but he dismissed it as usual. There was a reason why he had not paid a visit when the owner was in after all. He had his reservations about a confrontation with her but there was surely a need for contact in order to be able to obtain the advanced materials as to be able to accomplish his quest to aid his father. It was not something he looked forward to however, and he needn't have to rush into it immediately. Besides, it was better for him to have a better understanding and foundation in magecraft before rushing into researching advanced curses and darker aspects of magecraft without any knowledge.

Through the quick browse of the shelves, Shirou had not found anything that had struck his fancy. It was fine, he thought, it was not what he had set out here to affirm after all. The main reason that Shirou had made his daily trips over to the Tohsaka Mansion was to check for any loopholes of the bounded fields guarding the workshop. While he technically had permission to enter, he had not exactly undergone a second meeting with the Magus in residence yet to officiate that 'permission'. Besides, it was far simpler to get what he wanted without any fuss if he could bypass this set of bounded fields too. While it would still be breaking in, he supposed he did have some form of approval even if the individual was not aware of his comings and goings.

Shirou had reached the basement workshop. Carefully, he took a few steps forward and awaited the warning from his senses about the danger of the bounded fields. He was surprised that he had gotten a few steps more than he would have usually without anything setting of his sense of danger. He doubted that his instincts were off. Could the Tohsaka have altered or modified the barriers? Could he take advantage of this lull in protections and obtain what he needed without contact with the female Magus? He closed his eyes and focused, feeling out the next few steps warily.

"What are you doing, Emiya?" a sweet sarcastic tone rung out. This alarmed Shirou enough to fall backwards into a sitting position onto the steps that he had walked down. It appeared that he had been too overconfident in his ability to be stealthy. The female Tohsaka was sitting on a stool with her legs and arms crossed, folded. Her hair was tied up in twin tails and she was looking at him as though a predator would look at a juicy lamb. This was the exactly what he had hoped to avoid…

* * *

Rin would not describe herself as a cunning individual but she was currently in the midst of plotting a scheme. It was her right to do so. The dastardly male had ambushed her and had pressed her into loaning away the resources of her family by binding Rin into a Geis. What was worse however was that after providing her with what was supposed to be the 'carrot' for Rin to agree to the Geis, he had not shown his face since. Sure, he had provided what only could be described as an 'alarming' revelation. It was a poor attempt to get Rin to provide what he required however. Even if what he said was completely true and the promises he made were carried out, with only pride befitting a first-rate Magus, Rin would not normally allow herself to be unwillingly coerced as to bind herself into a Geis. The only reason Rin had even considered it, much less agreed to it was due to the threat to her life.

He had insinuated that Kirei had betrayed her father during the last Holy Grail War. Rin had listened and had taken the possibility into account but he had not revealed much more. What he had done was instead to pass a stack of folders that had provided insight into what had happened in the last Holy Grail War. Rin had taken the initiative to analyze the documents and while they were extremely valuable for the scion of the Tohsaka, allowing her to prepare for a future Holy Grail War better by recognizing the probable events and the stakes involved, the documents were unclear in what exactly was the cause of her father's death and defeat in the war. The only thing even personally impactful for Rin was the fact that her father's servant was seen fighting after the death of her father.

There were plenty of suggestions about what Kirei had done in the war and what he had done to betray the Tohsaka's but there was nothing concrete. Most of what the folder contained was likely accurate about what had happened in the war but it seemed as though the individual recording down the events happening in the Holy Grail War was also not completely certain as to the fate of her father and what had led to it.

Rin had to admit however, that it indeed looked very suspicious and it was easy to draw the conclusion that Kirei had killed and betrayed her father. She was able to cast away her personal dislike for her guardian however and also acknowledge the reality that it was only but a circumstantial suspicion. Even if it was also one that perfectly matched up with what she thought of Kirei. After all, archers had the class ability of independent action that allowed them to persist even after the death of their masters.

Privately, Rin would be the first individual to acknowledge that she had a deep-seated dislike for her guardian even before this revelation. When Rin had first met Kirei at a young age, she felt that the priest had an untrustworthy and shifty deposition. The feeling only persisted and grown as she spent more time observing him as a child. The greatest factor contributing to her dislike of Kirei however was not due to her personal instincts warning her away from him. No, the reason she had what could even be described as a hatred towards Kirei was due to his failure to assist her father during the Holy Grail War. While he was not a capable Magus, as an Executor of the church, a first-class Executor even, he had to have the combat ability of an elite, a great advantage for a team with two servants. As an Executor, he would be expected to stand against dead apostles and all manner of creatures. Not only had he failed to protect her father, when a naïve seven-year-old Rin had pleaded for Kirei to assist in allowing her father to leave the Holy Grail War alive if not successful, Kirei had not even promised or shown a conviction that he would attempt so. He had instead emphasized the danger of the Holy Grail War in which Rin had already been perfectly aware of but the reality that Kirei had not shown even mentioned to try his best as a reassurance to a child was extremely telling.

While Rin felt that the implication that Kirei had killed her father or assisted in it should enrage her, the lack of evidence of the betrayal and the fact that she had already harboured an intense hatred for him had ironically helped her in keeping her emotions under control. If it was proven Rin felt that she would undoubtedly not be able to control her fury but for the moment she felt that she had to demand more answers from the Emiya before anything. Even if motivated by this incident, Rin was always intending to discover more about the happenings of the last Holy Grail War, for her benefit if nothing else.

It was to her greater annoyance that the folders that he had provided her weren't even the originals but rather a projected version from graduation air. She had only gotten progress more maddened by the impertinence of the Emiya by already taking his end of the deal without even the acknowledgement of her grace in allowing for the agreement.

Yesterday had been the last straw. What Rin was had now done was to set a magical tripwire that alerted her at the instance her books were once again pilfered. She would await his presence and carry out her comeuppance against him at an area where she would be in the undeniable advantage. She would await in a place of optimal danger for any foreign Magus. Her workshop in the basement of the Tohsaka Mansion.

Rin was sitting on a stool next to a table in the basement workshop. She had been in the midst of transferring magical energy to be stored into a jewel when she was alerted by a tingle at the back of her head. It appeared that the crook of a Magus was here. She got up to shift the bounded fields protecting the workshop into a secondary state and folded her arms, getting into a menacing position in order to observe the entrance stairway.

Several footsteps echoed into and around the basement, the enclosed nature of the workshop allowing Rin to have ample knowledge of the progress of the intruder. The footsteps stopped, creating an eerie silence of several seconds before a figure came into view. This was the second time Rin had encountered the male Magus. This time he had also borne the black trench coat too long for his body, however he was also wearing a long sky-blue scarf around his neck that had clashed horribly with the colour of the coat. It looked as if his eyes were closed and he was walking slowly and cautiously down the steps. Rin smirked and called out.

"What are you doing Emiya?"

Upon hearing her voice, her fellow magus immediately fell backwards into a sitting position on the steps, it appeared as though he was truly startled and not expecting her presence. It would be his undoing.

"Erm, hey Tohsaka, … I was just oh…." Emiya stammered.

"Encroaching into my home?" Rin cut in sharply before the male Magus stammered out an excuse.

"Well, … I was just checking the security of the wards…" the male Magus continued…

"And without conferring with me at all?" Rin cut in again, greatly vindicated by how flustered she had been able to make him with her surprise presence.

"You know Emiya, … it is highly suspicious for a male to be breaking and entering the house of an innocent young female every day… Some might even deem such behaviour to be extremely suspicious and the height of lechery…" Rin continued her analysis of her situation.

" **You are ten!** " Shirou refuted before she could make more statements.

"Exactly! How could such a young maiden to be caught in such a situation without a valiant gentleman for protection?"

Rin observed the male magus stammering and stuttering, completely thrown out his element. It was an interesting contrast to her previous meeting with him in which he held all the cards. After letting the Emiya Magus suffer for a while longer, Rin resumed with her agenda.

"But seriously, why have you been coming and going like a thief without even paying your respects to the magus you so kindly threatened into creating a Geis?" Rin demanded, switching her expression from an amused sadist into one that denoted her anger at the situation better.

"Are you afraid of this innocent girl?" Rin said while fluttering her eyelashes, switching her tone back into a teasing one.

"Or are you simply a fraud?" Rin changed her tone once again to an aggressive one upon noticing the male Magus looking at her as though she was bipolar.

"No! Of course not, what I told you is of the almost truth." Shirou replied, offended by the suggestion that he had faked information about the Holy Grail War in order to take advantage of her.

"Then could you tell me more, I'm afraid there is not much more I can draw other than from the circumstantial evidence given."

"I'm afraid not, my father has never mentioned much about the Holy Grail War to me and he dislikes the topic." Shirou replied, slightly chagrined about his inability to provide more.

"Hrmph! I guess that I shall have to find out more myself then, it is a bit annoying but what can I do… at least now you have to assist me in discovering more…"

"By the way, since you are bound to be my magical assistant, I will be sure to take advantage of that… On the other hand, I guess I'm also bound to allow you into my workshop in that case…"

"Well, no point dwelling too much more on what we have already agreed to, take what you want and scram back home then, I will expect you in two days' time… I won't wait and see you out."

Rin unfolded her arms and brushed past Shirou up the stairs while delivering her message.

Rin turned around suddenly however. "Oh! Remember to wear some clothing more suitable for magical experiments instead of the coat and scarf…" Having said suggested what seemed to be an idea conjured on impulse, Rin went on her way out of the basement workshop.

Shirou was relieved. That confrontation had gone a lot better than he could have ever hoped for. When he had first been startled at her presence, he was wary of how she would carry out her revenge for her humiliation at Shirou's hand by being threatened into a binding agreement. After all, the Geis that they had agreed to had mentioned nothing about agreeing to not conduct aggressive actions against each other. That had been part of the reason that Shirou had been avoiding meeting her.

It seemed that after a bit of teasing and what Shirou saw as a show of dominance, the Tohsaka Magus had backed off with only a legitimate demand that Shirou carry out his part of the deal. Shirou felt that the Tohsaka Magus could have done more to him giving the position he was caught in but it seemed that the female Magus had saw something that had led her not to do worse to Shirou.

Shirou looked backwards at the staircase. The Tohsaka Magus had just walked away leaving him to what he saw as a messy workshop. It was rather large for a basement room, it had a large table at the centre, many magical items around and scrolls and books laid haphazardly around the room on the floor, on the table and with many opened without any manner of organization.

Shirou not wanting to think too much on the encounter went and grabbed what looked like several books on magical Ailments and went on his way back. Meanwhile, he made a mental note to make some time to organize the materials in the room in the future. The messy manner in which the room was used had irked Shirou…

* * *

Shirou was amused…

It was the day of which Rin had stated in order to carry out his part of their agreement and he had arrived at the Tohsaka Mansion to carry out his end of the deal. He had discovered that Rin had also keyed his presence into the main bounded fields over the Tohsaka property.

He had just stepped into the mansion and Rin was already looking at him, arms folded in an attempt to intimidate. Shirou was confused, what was Rin trying to achieve, haven't she already carried out her show of dominance and reaffirmed their agreement?

Besides, the twin tailed magus was too short and adorable to intimidate him when he was not trying to specially avoid her, especially considering her current age. While she was currently undergoing her growth spurt, Shirou was still a good several inches taller. For an individual of supposed Asian descent, Shirou had shot up like a weed every few months.

The twin tailed Magus had immediately put Shirou to work according to their agreement but bizarrely her first command was to excavate all the furniture out of an unused guest bedroom. Shirou had initially assumed that the room was emptied out for the purpose of conducting magical experiments but that was not in fact the case.

Once the room was emptied, Rin had proceeded to pull out a chalk and begin drawing a large square in the middle of the room. Once again Shirou had assumed that she was about to conduct an uncommon magical ritual beyond his knowledge but the Tohsaka had proceeded to command Shirou to spar with her in hand to hand combat. This had thrown Shirou off completely. Was this why she had asked him to dress in a more suitable manner? Shirou had even forgone his scarf for this although perhaps in retrospect it might be good to not let the female magus get an inkling about the nature of his scarf.

Shirou had known that the priest was a master in unarmed combat. He was a church Executor after all, and a first class one at that. Without much skills in magecraft, there was a large and obvious possibility that the priest was one of the best martial artists on the planet. Shirou was aware of the basics of the priest's manner of combat. He was able to blend what was a non-magical martial art with magecraft to greatly enhance the techniques power. It had seemed that the priest had passed down some his skills to his ward but not the particular brand of martial art that had allowed for the brutal lethality to Kirei Kotomine. It was a relief for Shirou did not fancy internal injuries happening to him anytime soon.

While Shirou had not delved in the realm of unarmed combat, he would consider himself a minor prodigy in swordplay. As such, some principles could be carried over. Rin was constantly nipping at his heels, punching and maneuvering herself in an attempt to deliver the most damage in the situation where a hit would be landed. She was attacking him in a brand of pseudo Karate without many definite stances but honed through what seemed like regular sparring.

Shirou was prepared however, planting himself firmly on the ground and using his instincts and reflexes to avoid the furious blows of the twin tailed Magus. As much as the skill Rin seemed to possess in unarmed combat was extremely formidable, Shirou was constantly managing to dodge her blows by a hair's breathe. It was at this moment that Shirou was glad for his greater agility.

The girl was extremely skilled in using her fists, she appeared to possess a decent perception in combat. Her other aspects were lacking however. Her skill as great as it was for her age, was not quite enough to overwhelm Shirou when taking into account his vastly superior reflexes, physique and his instinct.

As such, while initially Shirou was in danger of getting hit, he was steadily getting a grip of the girl's technique and dodging her blows more fluently. Shirou was aware of his own capabilities however and decided to not attempt to counterattack.

He doubted that he would be able to get a blow off without overexposing himself due to not having prior instruction in unarmed combat. He would even be willing to bet that the Tohsaka Magus may be counting on him to slip up in an attempt to counter.

Nevertheless, Shirou found that he was quite enjoying this encounter, he was even smirking at the furious expressions Rin was making as he got steadily better. She did not seem to be enjoying the encounter as much however. She was looking like she was getting more and more infuriated by the second as the Emiya continued avoiding her blows.

Shirou was puzzled, why was Rin getting angry if this spar was what she suggested? It was obviously her method of practice in order to determine the level of her future assistant. Shirou would place no blame on the girl for a rather unusual method of evaluating his skills. The girl was obviously quite isolated due to her focus on life as a Magi and living in seclusion.

Nonetheless, despite the baffling case of the increasingly bad mood for the Tohsaka, Shirou was enjoying this method of evaluation more and more, he felt that this was a good practice for developing his instincts. As much as he would regard his skills in swordplay, they would be redundant when not used in conjunction with good instincts and reflexes.

" **WHY DON'T YOU STAND STILL?!** "

The Tohsaka Magus shouted at the Emiya Magus. It had seemed that Rin's plan had not went to fruition… And it was such a good plan, Rin thought. She was still quite sore about getting threatened into an agreement with the Emiya. As such, now knowing that they were of a similar age, the gifted Magus had come up with a cunning plan to regain her pride.

It was a brilliant plan concocted, it was so shrewd and subtle that even Rin felt that even her father would approve… She would utilize the only useful thing that the dastardly priest had taught her. The boy had obviously needed to learn a lesson about dealing with a Tohsaka, yet due to the Geis Rin would not want to lose what could be a useful slave assistant.

Never was it to be said that Rin was not intelligent however, she believed that she had enough control over her skill in unarmed combat to teach him a lesson while still retaining a useful assistant. She would need to both intimidate and teach the Emiya boy a lesson. Her intimidating expressions had seemed to not work so far, in fact it may have even backfired…

The Emiya had seemed to find her expressions amusing. He had even called her fearsome stance 'cute'. She was not cute… She was a fearsome Magus that would be feared by all Magi alike in the future. She would be known as powerful and all would bow down to her might. She would not demean her worth by having a description such as 'cute'.

In order to carry another display of dominance and show the Magus who was in charge, Rin had decided to use her rights to order the Emiya to empty out the furniture of a spare bedroom in the Tohsaka mansion, no one would be visiting anyway.

She had suggested a spar, she had hoped that this would allow her to overawe the Emiya into submission. She would use her supreme skill in unarmed combat and use it to achieve her goals. With her benevolence, she had decided to disallow the usage of magecraft in reinforcement or other enhancing techniques in the 'spar'. This would allow the Emiya Magus a semblance of a chance and to allow him to take advantage of his more combat orientated physique. Anyways, she was merciful, she would not harm the Emiya even if she were to get a hit in… well she wouldn't hurt him **too much** at least…

Her plan had not succeeded however, the boy was annoyingly quick at dodging her skilled blows, she would persevere however, he was obviously lucky and would eventually slip up. She knew that the Emiya would not be able to defend himself too well, he had no prior experience in unarmed combat, she could see it quite clearly in the way he moved.

He had some training, that much she could determine. It was not in unarmed combat however, yet he was still able to avoid her wrath gracefully. She was disabused with her previous notions of how the situation would go when rather than slipping up, the Emiya boy had seemed to get her rhythm and get steadily better at evasion, being able to read her and shirk her shots by more and more.

She was getting steadily more infuriated with this encounter than she had been, rather than be wary at her wrath. He targets had started to derive enjoyment out of the encounter. This was not a game… this was supposed to be the representation of the natural order. She was supposed to be the mighty predator! Her!

Yet it seemed like the encounter would end soon and without a scratch on her target. For all her previous confidence, the Tohsaka Magus would freely acknowledge that the boy exceeded her physically in every possible relevant manner, not only was he taller, he had also possessed a more powerful and agile physique. As such, she was steadily running out of stamina. Not that she would admit that of course, and not to the cocky bastard in front of her. He would see how lenient, humane and gracious she was by granting him a break…

Shirou was happy with how the arrangement was going. When he had first came up with his plan, he had hoped to be able to get a deal with Rin without threatening her. When he had resorted to that, he was dreading working with a Rin that had a grudge on him. It had seemed that his worries were unfounded. Rin was actually taking this arrangement surprisingly well.

Rather than being a typical cold-hearted Magus, Rin actually seemed to be quite compassionate and was not regularly abusing the terms of the agreement to achieve a form of revenge against him. When Rin had suggested a sparring match between the two of them yesterday, Shirou was quite baffled, she was a Magus wasn't she?

She did not seem to be willing to reveal her intentions for the sparring match yesterday so Shirou had refrained from asking. He had personally come up with a theory for her actions however, while Shirou had initially assumed it was her method of evaluation of his skills, he now believed that while that was her main objective, she had a secondary objective.

She was obviously worried for their relationship and how to better prepare him to work together with her. It was obviously a form of bonding. She was even concerned about him. She seemed like was trying her best to hit him which was to prepare him in an event of a confrontation with Kirei. She had even replicated what Shirou had perceived to be Kirei's fighting style. The encounter in the sparring match would contribute leads and bounds in ensuring Shirou's future safety. She was ramping up her attempts to keep him safe!

When Shirou had come over this morning, her first assignment was to work with her to cover up the loopholes as well as work in improving the security and reliability of the bounded fields of the Tohsaka Mansion. Shirou had done it without objections, it was one of the main selling points of their agreement after all.

She had then proceeded to drag him to her workshop and began to pull out some books and passed them to him. She had started lecturing him about the history of the Tohsaka, from conception to now and begun to explain the rough details regarding the Tohsaka Jewelcraft. After explaining her family's art, she continued to inform him about her personal progress about her magecraft. She had started to look annoyed halfway through her explanations. Was she expecting something from him?

Regardless, Shirou wholeheartedly approved of her decision to inform him about her progress and potential in Thaumaturgy. As an assistant, he should know the capabilities of what she could do in order to better assist her and work better together. This seemed like yet another attempt at helping each other to develop a bond.

Shirou was interested in her explanations, his father while formidable in combat was quite significantly lacking in magical knowledge. Shirou had felt this encounter as short as it was had already gone quite a way to helping him build up a foundation in learning Thaumaturgy further beyond the realms of what he already knew.

He was also rather impressed at her skills in magecraft but was more interested in the specific's instead. This had seemed to increase the level of annoyance in her. He had some questions but refrained from asking for the moment. As much as Rin was being extremely helpful and concerned about him, he felt that bad things would happen to him if he were to voice any of his inquiries about his interest in her magecraft…

"… In conclusion, I am a first-rate Magus that with the ability to conduct magecraft of all elements as well as use powerful spells with and without the aid of my magical crest…" Concluded Rin, with her arms folded in a lecture pose.

The Emiya magus had looked impressed and interested at her knowledge magecraft throughout her lecture which had appeased her somewhat, but that was not the effect she was aiming for… She was still waiting for it... She was still waiting for the Emiya to be shocked in a state of awe and fear over her power and potential in Thaumaturgy.

It had seemed that her attempt had not worked quite as well as she wanted. No doubt, the Emiya now had an idea of her skills and capabilities but he not yet intimidated. This was not a desired result for Rin. She had wanted to express her superiority over the mage that had threatened her by showing the gulf and gap in their abilities and how he was lucky that she was benevolent enough to accept his deal. Rin conveniently ignored that she was threatened into the agreement with the Emiya magus.

The plan was not yet a complete failure however… Rin decided to try to recuperate her failure of her plan by inquiring about the abilities and progress of the Emiya about his magecraft. He must have been a knowledgeable magus for his age to be able to bypass the Tohsaka bounded fields if not as great as her…

"Wait! You don't even know what your element is?"

"What spells do you know?"

"What about Runes?"

"Alchemy?"

"Healing?"

"Why do you only know such strange aspects of magecraft?" Rin shrieked, placing her arms bent behind her head and looking devastated.

"…"

It had seemed that her situation was worse than she feared. She may have gotten an assistant to assist her in her progress in magecraft, but she doubted that he would be able to help much. She expected his aptitude in magecraft to be relatively lower than hers, but she had not expected this…

She had not expected her 'assistant' to be so lacking in knowledge in Thaumaturgy. It had seemed the sum total of his talents were regarding bounded fields and Material Transmutation. He was lacking in most of the basic knowledge that should be the foundation of even a third-rate Magus. The Emiya was apparently currently an overly specialised magus and while Rin had no issues with him being an overly specialized magus, Rin had an issue with him being an overly specialized Magus that was **her** 'assistant'.

Rin could not have possibility had a large headache at that moment. She had initially been looking forward to the arrangement through the Geis for she desired an aid who would be able to help accelerate the progress in her magecraft. It seemed that she had hopes too high for would was instead be the cause of possible hinderance of her progress in magecraft.

It would be fine if he had other specializations but Rin had no use for knowledge of bounded fields beyond improving the Tohsaka bounded fields. And material transmutation was widely considered as a useless area to possess a specialization in. While it was different for the Tohsaka, requiring structural analysis in their Jewelcraft, she would not allow her 'assistant' to assist her in her family's specializations while he had not yet gained her trust. This meant that the areas in which she would require assistance would not receive the benefit from the assistance.

While Rin was displeased with this turn of events, there was a silver lining. From the lack of knowledge that the Emiya Magus possessed in Thaumaturgy, she was relieved that her agreement made was not an elaborate plot conducted to steal knowledge of the Tohsaka magecraft.

At least now Rin knew that while she didn't trust him, it was unlikely that he wished her harm and had a devious plot up his sleeves. Her evaluation of him was that while he seemed generally astute, he was also not too much of a threat to her now. Furthermore, this situation could be better salvaged. She was hitting a block in her progress in magecraft and she was feeling rather bored recently. She supposed that she could devote some resources in educating a competent assistant in magecraft, she was still young and full of youth after all…

"Fine… It seems that I will have no choice but to be a teacher and educate you in the foundations of magecraft after all… Shirou…"

Shirou was confused at what had occurred. The Tohsaka Magus had just finished her lecture on her abilities of magecraft when she had then turned around and started vigorously questioning him about the depth of his knowledge in magecraft.

He had informed her that he was a specialized Magus due to both his and his father's lack of education within the foundations of magecraft and while in the beginning she was fine, once he had informed her about the subjects of his specializations, she had begun developing a twitch.

She had seemed to suddenly gained a desperation and had started manically question him about different aspects of magecraft and his knowledge. After her questioning had stopped, her expression had turned into one of severe displeasure. She had begun throwing a minor silent fit in which she begun stomping around the room and she had ended the fit with offering to educate him in magecraft out of the blue. Wasn't he supposed to help her instead of the reverse?

He was extremely surprised at the offer for while she had seemed to be quite a good person thus far, he still expected some anger about being threatened into such an arrangement. While she looked angry, she had offered him an education in magecraft. She must inwardly be a caring individual, Shirou thought.

"Well?" Rin once again inquired, eyes twitching at her generous offer of studying under a first-rate magus such as her not being immediately accepted.

"err… Yes, I would like that" shirou replied.

"Don't mistake this for me being kind… I am only doing this so that you would be a competent assistant to help me in my magecraft in the future…"

Shirou was skeptical at her words. While it was likely she was speaking the truth for she had no motive to lie, her actions had been to the contrary. Once the arrangement had started, she had treated him cordially while acting in his interests and this had seemed like another attempt at doing just that. Shirou resolved not to think too much on the offer. He was pleased with the offer as there was only so much that he could obtain regarding books on magecraft and Kiritsugu was also severely lacking in knowledge in Thaumaturgy. Shirou looked forward to undergoing his future lessons in magecraft regardless of the intentions of the female Tohsaka…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> More of Shirou's motivations and why he was avoiding a confrontation with Rin.
> 
> We see more of Rin's internal thought and how she plans out a confrontation with Shirou as well as her thoughts on the fact that Kirei may have killed her father as well as the initial confrontations between the pair. Basically Rin hates Kirei and accepts the possibility but does not full embrace it and remains objective in the face of not knowing more especially even with her own acknowledged hatred of him. We discover the roots of her hatred of Kirei. We also revisit her main misgivings about the deal with Shirou which is basically the fact that she was threatened into it, ignoring the fact that she wouldn't have agreed in any other situation.
> 
> Due to Rin's humiliation and anger over being threatened, this is a form of revenge and show of dominance. She vindictively teases Shirou but her main objective is to show dominance as well as reaffirm that what she now knows about the Holy Grail War is completely true. We also see her thoughts on what she thinks is an miniaturist attempt by Shirou in order to get a deal with her and Rin's attempt to throw Shirou off is mostly to get an insight into his character. She basically discovers that Shirou is basically harmless in nature and the satisfaction from many instances of petty revenge is enough.
> 
> Her idea to spar with Shirou was basically thought up on impulse but as a part of the many instances of petty revenge. It's also another show of dominance. The way in which Shirou had caught her off guard in order to force her into a Geis really bugs her and that's why she keeps having these shows of dominance.
> 
> Poor Shirou with effectively only three years of seclusion with strange adults as a form of social contact after the fire completely misunderstands Rin's intentions. He believes that She is only trying to evaluate his level and the on instead believes that she is also trying to bond with him which is indirectly happening, but not Rin's intentions at all.
> 
> Having failed in her attempt to show Shirou who's 'boss', Rin instead tries a different approach by revealing her progress in magecraft. Instead, Shirou is more interested about the magecraft itself and what Rin knows of magecraft rather then being afraid about her prodigious talent. Rin, thinking that Shirou is looking down on her instead seeks to compare their levels of magecraft in which she discovers that what Shirou knows is disjointed and weird aspects of magecraft. Due to Kiritsugu, and Shirou never getting an actual education in magecraft, he has no idea whatsoever about the basics.
> 
> Rin gets worried that she has gotten out many times worse from their agreement but instead tries to turn the situation into a positive as another show of superiority as well as a revision of what she knows. Due to her hitting a slight roadblock in her magecraft recently and her refusal to turn to Kirei for help, this is what she hopes to achieve in the meantime.


	10. A Tale of Mutual Bonds

Taiga looked at the preteen. He was once again reading a book. He also had a pen and paper at his side, apparently taking down notes about the contents of the book. He was totally absorbed in the quest of learning and not paying attention to her unsubtle observation of him. Shirou was the Fujimura's adopted sibling. Taiga has enjoyed a good relationship with both Emiya's. When Taiga had first met Kiritsugu through her grandfather Raiga, she could only be described as being enamored by the elder Emiya. As a teenager currently at the age of seventeen, she had retained her crush on him as well as her admiration for Kiritsugu's suave and mature looks. Though she supposed that her feelings had never went much beyond that. She still bore affection for the elder Emiya but through further interactions with him had struck up a close friendship.

She was greatly disheartened by the fact that the elder Emiya had always thought of and treated her fondly as a little sister but she had gotten over it for a while now. Besides, based on his trips abroad, he must already have someone in his heart. Taiga felt that she could accept that. Beyond friendship, the elder Emiya had served a role to tutor her in English. She was currently studying in her second year at the Homurahara Academy and was on a self-chosen quest to improve her communication skills. Due to this, on her visits to the Emiya residence, Kiritsugu had deemed fit to only speak to her in English. Through this, her aptitude in the language had grown to a standard which had satisfied her.

Through her relationship with Kiritsugu, there also came with Shirou Emiya as a package. When Taiga had first met Kiritsugu through her grandfather, he had just moved into Fuyuki. Shirou was already just adopted by him for several weeks at that point. She had learned that Shirou was a victim orphaned by the great fire that had occurred in the Shinto district of Fuyuki and had apparently lost his memories due to the trauma of the incident. Due to this, she had been able to obtain a front row seat as a witness to how Shirou Emiya had gained his bearings in the strange new world he had been forced into. Taiga, sympathizing with Shirou's unfortunate fate in life, had adopted him as her little brother shortly after. She had tried her best to be a sister to him with her cheerful outlook on life by trying to drive him out of his shell. He was rather withdrawn and broody while not being deliberately so and Taiga had tried to change that mindset by always being her cheerful and exuberant self around him. She had not enjoyed much success thus far.

Taiga had witnessed Shirou's growth for a few years, he had not changed much during the years after the fire. He was still rather withdrawn and socially inept but had picked up the obsession with learning through the years. Taiga had theorized that the younger Emiya's fascination with books and motivation to learn everything was due to his lack of options. Shirou was a ten-year-old boy with only three years of memories and in the three years of experiences that he had undergone, he had not had social interaction with any individuals of his age. He must have been so unknowingly bored and exhausted. Even Taiga's relatively young age had not counted towards this. Like it or not, even Taiga would personally admit that she had some rather 'unique' quirks.

As a student currently, and with education keeping her preoccupied for most of the week, she had not been able to help ratify the situation of her adopted brother's inexperience and lack of social contact. She had only been able to come over a day every week and the only reason she was able to find the time was because she would be able to get several meals at the Emiya Residence. Her main objectives through the visits to the Emiya Residence was to spent more time socializing with the Emiya pair as well as spar with them as practice in Kendo. Shirou had been getting rather annoyingly skilled at Kendo ever since he had taken up the hobby. He had been able to match up with her too well for a boy of almost a decade younger. Ever since Shirou had been able to match her, Kiritsugu had bowed out of the practices and had given Shirou the role of sparring with her.

Taiga looked once again at the younger Emiya with a scrutinizing eye and decided that it was time he started to assist her with her Kendo practice today. A child a decade old should not be spending all his time around books, Taiga thought.

"Ne Shirou! Spar with Big Sister Fujimura!"

"Do we have to do this now? I have something to do right now."

"Yes of course we have to spar right now! What could be more important than your dear and beautiful elder sister?"

Shirou gave a sigh and placed his book down, following Taiga's steps in walking to the dojo. His steps were slow and dragged out. He was reluctant but he nevertheless had agreed to indulge Taiga's request. He had been taken away from studying a book on magecraft.

The past few days, he had been going over to the Tohsaka Mansion for lessons with Rin. She had been teaching him the basic foundations of mainstream magecraft. His 'homework' was to read and analyse a book on the flowing and transferring of power, an aspect of magecraft used by the Tohsaka's. It had been an interesting read but Shirou had found out that he was getting confused in several aspects. Even though he generally picked most things up quickly, he was having a bit of trouble regarding the book of elements that Rin had requested him to study. Elements were aspects of magecraft that governed the very structure of the earth. Beyond the basic elemental traits of an element, they also represented the governing of abstract substances that made up the structure of the world. Heat represented entropy and thermodynamics while water represented the flow of all forms of energy on earth. Well, it was always good to gain some practice in Kendo after the exhaustion of comprehending deeper aspects of Thaumaturgy…

It was another tie caused by Taiga asking for a break. Through the weeks ever since Shirou had gained a large improvement in swordplay, Taiga had been struggling to gain a victory or avoid a defeat. What it came down to every instance was the fact that Taiga had seven years more on him. While Taiga had little more room to grow, she did still enjoy a massive height advantage over her younger counterpart. Taiga however was a prideful individual. She had always believed that she was one of the best in Kendo in the country. She would not win purely through a physical advantage against a child especially when the physical advantage would become null in the future. As such, she had called a break to today's sparring session. Besides, she still had a mission to accomplish. While Shirou went off to have a shower, she went up to the elder Emiya for a suggestion.

"Ne, Kiritsugu, don't you think Shirou should get out more and socialize?"

"Not really, I don't see the issue. Is there an issue?"

Taiga sighed. She knew the elder Emiya was a more introverted individual but to think it would be this bad.

"Kiritsugu, Shirou doesn't have any friends or acquaintances of the same age and he doesn't go to school yet. Don't you think you should prod him into socializing and finding some friends? It might be a big help for him."

Kiritsugu nodded his head. While he had not exactly comprehended what Taiga was saying, he could understand the basic concept of social interaction. While he had spent his childhood on the run with his father due to his sealing designation by the clocktower, he had once had a chance to make a dear friend…

Aside from the depressing memories threatening to resurface, he recalled that one of his friends that had assisted him in settling in Fuyuki had a son of the same age as Shirou. He believed that it could be beneficial to introduce them. He had something to request of him anyway. He would ask his son to accompany him to a hike to his friend's place of habitation. While he tried to be his best as a father, he was afraid that he had missed this aspect of his son's development. As far as he knew, his son knew no individuals of his age group and it was better to introduce him to one. He only hoped that this would correct what stunting of Shirou's social development that had been caused…

* * *

Rin Tohsaka was walking to the church. It was this part of the month again. The dreaded period where she had to be in vicinity of the priest of Fuyuki. This was a similar visit to one she had undergone two weeks ago. On the outside, nothing had changed. The same pious girl was just on another one of her bimonthly visits to the church as a part of her connection with god. On contrary, much had changed since her previous visit to the church.

The Tohsaka bloodline was one that had always resided in the land of Japan. It was not a traditional Magus family that had immigrated from Europe. Instead, for the majority of the history of the Tohsaka, magic had not existed beyond miracles of god and rumors. It was not an incident that had led her ancestor, Nagato Tohsaka into discovering magic and bringing magecraft into the tradition of the family but rather it could be said that Magic found them. A rather troublesome Magic at that.

It was the second magician, Zeltrech that had inducted the Tohsaka's into the moonlit world. During a journey, her ancestor Nagato had helped picked up a hotel bill for an individual that had lacked the currency of the land, helping to avert a troublesome situation. As an act of gratitude, Zeltrech, noticing the presence of magical circuits on her ancestor had taken up Nagato as a student of sorts in the art of Magecraft. While Zeltrech was a True Magician rather than simply a mage, he was first simply a Magus that had mastered and discovered the second magic through the path to the Root.

There were five Magics currently in existence. Magic, or Sorcery is the pinnacle of mystery that surpasses any current magecraft or science. Mysteries are concepts. A Mystery is made out of everything and anything that could exist within reality. A mystery always traces its sources to the Root. A metaphysical location outside of time that is a catalogue of all information of the past, current and future. An archive of the theoretical and the proven. A foundation of all possibilities and all events from infinite realities. It is everything and yet nothing at the same time. To achieve the pinnacle of all mysteries is to reach the location in which all mysteries could exist, in which all truths are given, in which one recognizes all realities for what they are. It is a path to the root.

To reach or have a path directly to the Root, distinguishes a Magus or Magician from anything other existence. Such individuals are known as True Magicians. True Magicians are individuals that have reached or have a path of reaching the Root without entering it. In order to obtain a true Magic, a Magus must create or enter a path to the Root. Zeltrech, the second Magician was the second individual to become a true magician by creating a means to reach the Root. He had acquired the Magic after the creation of a new Magic as a method of reaching the Root through his own personal research. Due to this, as soon as he obtained the status of a True Magician, he had already mastered the use of the second Magic. This mastery and ownership of the second Magic had allowed him to defeat Brunestud of the Crimson moon, the king of the Vampires and a Primordial Being of the Universe.

As a Magus who had become a True Magician through his own quest to the Root, he would be one of the best candidates to have as an introduction into the world of Magi. That was not true however, for he was a unique character. He is a troublesome figure within the world of Magi and can be said to have corrupted the Tohsaka's and led them astray. After leaving her family alone after helping to set up the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, he had left a troublesome object as well as blueprints as a mission for the Tohsaka's. Rin fully believed that she would be the individual to complete the mission.

Throughout the recent history of the Tohsaka's, ever since gaining the knowledge and ability to perform magecraft, the only single goal was to reach the Root, to find the truth of the universe. Due to this, being a member of Christianity was less of a personal faith but rather a traditional role being undertaken. It was only recently that the church had interfered as administrators of the Holy Grail War that the ties with the church were renewed. Through her father's pragmatism, the Tohsaka have struck up a friendship with the local church of Fuyuki and the then head priest Risei Kotomine. As a result of this, the close ties of the Tohsaka to the church were more political in nature than anything. Due to her father's tutorship of Kirei Kotomine, there was a responsibility from both parties to maintain the alliance.

Much has changed within the two weeks since her last visit to the church. What was the biggest change was how guarded Rin was against her guardian, Kirei Kotomine. What Shirou had done, was provide a valid suspicion upon Kirei kotomine through circumstantial but plausible evidence. The biggest thing was that it raised the caution on Rin side of what extent was the vileness of the priest. What had been revealed was beyond the worst that Rin had thought of him.

Her opinion aside, this had highlighted the possibility as to the extent of the depths of depravity that the priest could sink into. She had assured and made a commitment to herself that she would get to the bottom of the situation. And she would. But there were many precautions that she had to take. The fake priest was an astute individual. As sly as she thought she could be, there was no doubt in her mind that the he would catch on as soon as a suspicion was raised by her. There was no telling what could happen then. What she had to do was to be profoundly subtle and not go prodding directly and asking questions for that would be a massive folly. Unfortunately, such an approach while wise and pragmatic was also liable to take a long time.

She opened the doors to the church. She wondered if it was a sign or subconscious showing of his depravity by not having the doors opened permanently. Shouldn't a priest have a responsibility to accept and welcome as well as offer assistance to all individuals under the banner of God? Was this a hidden message about the nature of the priest that she had not deciphered yet?

The church was located in at the other side of the city from the Tohsaka Mansion. It is located in the Shinto district. It took about an hour to travel from her residence to the church. The church was not an old relic of the past. As old as religious buildings went, it was only constructed before the Second World War. The Church was a constructed before the beginnings of church involvement in the Holy Grail War. It was due to the Chaos caused by the evocation of the Holy Grail within the church in the second Holy Grail War that had motivated the church to send a representative to Fuyuki.

The building that was the church was of an average size of such an establishment and was fairly mundane. There was nothing to denote anything special about this church. It has pews, an altar and a courtyard as well as living space for the residents. The lessons that Rin had were conducted within the study room behind the main area of the church. As always, Kirei would be waiting for her there. He had dispensed with the basic duties of a host to await her at the entrance long ago. Rin sighed as she walked towards the study room. This was another dreaded session of her education in magecraft. The only relief is that it would be over in a few years when she would master everything that the fake priest possessed knowledge of…

"Oh? Your strikes are weak. How do you expect to fulfill your family's ambition through such amateurish attacks?"

The priest shakes his head while looking down, he then continues. "If only your father could see you now, what would he think?" A sadistic smile appears on Kirei's visage upon the twitch that has developed in Rin.

"Why would I care? As long as I am able to obtain the Holy Grail and reach the Root, I would have already done much better… he shouldn't have died so easily after all, and to unknown causes at that." Rin said this while trying to be nonchalant, observing Kirei for any signs that arose suspicion.

She was currently in the final stages of a spar with Kirei. Part of their lessons was that he would teach her Baqiquan. She had not learnt the lethal version that Kirei had mastered in order gain to ability of a first-class Executor. When she had requested that he teach her that version when she was younger, he had rejected her with the justification being that she had the wrong physique for it and not enough explosive power to use its potential.

Kirei was silent for a while, his was not looking directly at Rin, unable to see her expression. It was a blessing for she was not certain she had been subtle enough. It appeared that he had not expected this answer from her and that he was hoping for a more emotional and reactive answer. He took a while to reply to Rin. This pause before his answer and his answer itself only served to enhance her suspicions.

"Indeed… It was truly a tragedy that my mentor had fallen prey to an enemy master. I wished I could have done more but I had already lost my servant by then and was in the church for refuge."

Kirei had revealed nothing she did not already know. It was truly typical for the fake priest to provide an evasive answer like this. It confirmed what she had already expected, her quest to discover the truth of the fourth Holy Grail War would not be straightforward…

* * *

Shirou was currently walking beside his father on the way to an acquaintance of Kiritsugu. It had been a while since Shirou had been out in Fuyuki with his father. Ever since he had learned to cook at the acceptable level, it was far more convenient to dine at home and there was no need for them to travel outside. They were both similar people in a way. They were not thrifty individuals and there was never a need nor desires to head out for purchases beyond the necessary and those instances were few and far between. Whatever clothing or home appliances that had needed to be purchased were things Shirou had bought alone with Kiritsugu's funds. It was out of the blue that Kritsugu had requested Shirou accompany him to hike to visit an acquaintance. Shirou was glad to spend more time with his father but this was rather out of character. He knew that his father had contacts in Fuyuki but for what had Kiritsugu felt the need of to request Shirou to accompany him?

They had been walking for a while now. On their journey so far, they had to pass through the Fuyuki shopping district. Fuyuki was a relatively small city with the Miyama District where more traditional housing was based and the Shinto District where businesses and more modern housing is based. Fuyuki being a smaller city, it had only contained one major shopping district located within the Miyama portion of the city. Shirou was familiar with the shopping district. As the cook of the household. It was his duty to purchase ingredients in order to make meals. This was where he went multiple times a month, regularly. The frequency of his visits to the shopping districts had a slight variation due to what he was preparing to cook in that particular week. Often, he had to make more frequent trips within a month due to having to obtain fresher ingredients. On other times, he would make less frequent trips with less perishable ingredients. Due to his familiarity with this part of the district, it was easy to deduce where they were heading to. They were on the way to Mount Enzo.

The nation of Japan was made out of many islands and had many mountain ranges of differing sizes. With the majority of the country containing rocky and mountain terrain, it would be impossible to build a city without containing or neighboring a mountain range. Fuyuki was no exception to this. Mount Enzo being a mountain as suggested by its name, was taller than a hill. It was still a smaller mountain however but with steep slopes. There was only one thing of note about the mountain and it was the Ryuudou Temple.

The Ryuudou Temple is a mountainside temple on Mount Enzo owned and ran by the Ryuudou family. It is a true Buddhist temple with monks and built with traditional Japanese architecture. It also had a mountainside lake behind the temple. Shirou was puzzled by this journey. Kiritsugu was not a religious individual nor did he even adhere to a religious creed. Neither was Shirou a religious individual. Whoever Kiritsugu had led Shirou here to visit must live in the temple itself.

It was quite a hike up the temple. There were two entrances to the temple, the back gate leading to a path bypassing the mountainside lake as well as the main entrance which was an imposing gate. The rest of the building was flanked completely by tall trees around the mountain. As of the time of their arrival, the gate to the mountain was wide open. Shirou could see figures in simplistic robes walking around the temple.

The temple did not have many buildings but rather a large courtyard leading to the entrance hall. Neither the entrance hall nor the building was overly grand. It was made out of single-story buildings with traditional Japanese architecture. There was a bigger main building in the front, a corridor leading to a back area with a few smaller buildings for the individuals residing in the temple. The temple was flanked by all sides with walls several meters tall.

Kiritsugu led Shirou towards a figure waving at them. The figure had was a middle-aged man with very short black hair in black robes. He was of the same height as Kiritsugu but with a friendly and kindly appearance. He had a slight stubble with a cheerful expression.

"Ah Kiritsugu, it has been a while, who is this young lad with you? Is this your son?"

"Yes." Kiritsugu affirmed. "Shirou, this is Sachi Ryuudou, the high priest of the Ryuudou temple. We have been acquainted for a while now. While I go with Sachi here to discuss something, why don't you look around the temple?"

"Right, young Shirou can be fine to wander around as much as he wants. Let me call my son Issei, to show him around. He has been cooped up in this temple too much recently, some contact with the outside world would be good." Sachi Ryuudou smiled at Shirou before he turned backwards and shouted at the direction of the temple.

"Issei, come out here, we have guests that need to be shown around!"

A figure ran out of the temple halls. He was a boy of the same age of Shirou. Like his father, he too had black hair. However, unlike his father, he was of a skinner physique compared to his father's more muscular physique and he had thick glasses on, denoting his poor eyesight.

"Yes father? Is there something you need help with?" The figure questioned.

"Issei, this is Shirou Emiya, the son of my friend Kiritsugu here, would you please show him around?" With the instructions given Sachi Ryuudou led Kiritsugu into a room at the back of the main hall of the temple.

"Issei Ryuudou, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Issei raised his palm towards Shirou, angling for a handshake.

"Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you too." Shirou grabbed the opened palm and shook his hand.

With the basic pleasantries met, Issei gestured Shirou to follow him and proceeded to give Shirou a tour of the temple premises.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu was having a conversation with associate, Sachi Ryuudou.

"Kiritsugu, what brings you here today? It must be something important for you to make the journey up the mountain, what would necessitate you to come here in person instead of talking over the phone?"

"Sachi, you have been a great friend and help to me ever since I have settled in Fuyuki, you and Raiga both." As Kiritsugu mentioned the named of Raiga Fujimura, a slight twitch appeared on Sachi's expression but he nonetheless listened on, curious as to Kiritsugu's message.

"I'm afraid I have not come here to deliver good news, I have come here to request a favor. I hope you would agree on account of our friendship. It has been a while now, but I have discovered that my health is slowly declining and I have been getting weaker as days pass. I don't think I have much long left, a year or two at the most… As you know, my son is an orphan from the Fuyuki fire several years back, the effects are still apparent to this day, I hope you could help look out for him after I am no longer able to, Raiga has also promised to do what he can."

"Er, kiritsugu this is very sudden. Are you sure there's nothing to be done about your condition? Isn't medicine advanced nowadays? Of course, I will help look out for your son but should you be this pessimistic?"

"Don't be too worried, Sachi, there is nothing to be done for me. My only responsibility now is to prepare for the eventuality."

Sachi Ryuudou still looked downcast, saddened by the news. He raised his head and looked at Kiritsugu with a determined expression.

"Yes! You can count of me Kiritsugu, as your friend and high priest of the Ryuudou temple, I can do no less then that. Besides, I can't let that bastard Raiga upstage me! Rest assured, I will look out for your son no matter what happens!"

It had been a productive trip for both the pair of father and son. Shirou had been introduced to Issei Ryuudou. Issei is the youngest child of the Ryuudou temple. Aside from his father and the monks in the temple, Issei also had a brother named Reikan Ryuudou who was not in at the moment but whom he viewed as a role model. Issei had a direct and serious personality even at the same age as Shirou.

While Shirou felt that his maturity was as a direct result of growing up after the fire rather than out of his own inner nature, their mutual maturity at their ages had allowed them to strike up a quick friendship. While none of their characters were extremely extroverted, Shirou felt that Issei was a good and reliable individual while Issei felt that Shirou was a good person at heart too. Issei shared his aspirations of becoming a Buddhist monk in the future and carrying on the family tradition of running the temple while Shirou was uncharacteristically open and had shared his emptiness in life and professed an admiration for Issei having obtained a target in life. He had also professed his worries to Issei about his father's declining health while Issei with the lack of any good ideas had just advised Shirou to perform his role as a son to the very best.

They had parted ways after a promise to remain friends. Issei had suggested that they would be able to resume their friendship in a years' time when they entered into the Japanese education system at the stage of Junior High.

It had been a productive journey for Kiritsugu as well. While he had been prodded by Taiga that it was a good idea for Shirou to have greater social interactions with individuals of his age group, that was not his main agenda for arriving here.

He had been feeling weaker for a while now and he had already deduced the cause as a curse due to contact with the tainted Holy Grail during the fourth Holy Grail War. It had been a strong curse and with Kiritsugu's minimal aptitude as a Magus compared to as a spellcaster, there was nothing much he could do to counteract its effects.

The only things he had left after giving up his goal as a hero of justice after the disastrous end of the fourth Holy Grail War was his children. He had already tried his best to retrieve Illya and would continue until he died but the realistic and colder parts of him had already been resigned to a single conclusion of failure. The only thing he could do now was try his best for his son, Shirou. While he was still in shape for working, and that Shirou would have ample funds to live in the future, he had still been worried for Shirou.

Due to this worry, he had taken several measures to help ensure his son's condition after his death. Without any requests from him, he was already assured that Taiga would look out for Shirou after his demise, she had already adopted him as her brother in all but name. He had also made sure to extract promises from both Raiga Fujimura and Sachi Ryuudou, his only associates in Fuyuki to help look out for Shirou after he could not.

In his discussion with Sachi, he had made sure to drop the name of Raiga Fujimura when requesting help. The two had a tumultuous relationship and a fierce rivalry. While knowing his friend would have agreed any way, he had made sure to ensure a positive result by prodding at his fierce rivalry with Raiga.

Upon conclusion of their discussion, Kiritsugu was reassured to see that Shirou had apparently struck up a friendship with Issei Ryuudou. That was one of his worries off his back. He hoped that what he had done today would be able to help his son after his death. He had many regrettable incidents in his unlucky years of existence and he hoped that with such a disastrous record that there would be no more regrettable incidents…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> This chapter starts out from a POV from Taiga Fujimura, her existence is not forgotten and while she plays an important role in Shirou's life, she is currently in high school and does not have a lot of time for Shirou at the moment. She still plays a role as adoptive sister but is only more involved post the death of kiritsugu.
> 
> We see what she thinks of both the Emiya's as well as how she sees Shirou through his growing up after the fire. We see that while she has a decent bond with Shirou, he is still not normal as a boy of a decade old. We sees her theories as on why this is so and she eventually settles on the fact that Shirou doesn't have social contact with children of his age which is true but also not his main problem.
> 
> She drags Shirou off to spar with her while he is currently working on 'homework'. Basically this is Rin demanding Shirou to study while she teaches him magecraft. What he is currently studying is the flowing and transferring of power. As Shirou is bound by a Geis, he cannot reveal details of Tohsaka Magecraft. Due to this, Rin has a very crafty agenda in teaching him to transfer power. Unknown to Shirou, she wants to use him as a battery to transfer magical energy into more jewels.
> 
> Shirou is also currently studying elements. Elements are basically substances that shape up the textures in the reality marble of the world.
> 
> Interestingly, Shirou's element in my story is 'Concepts' a fact that neither Rin nor him will ever be able to find out due to the 'concepts' option not existing in any of the ways to divine and discover the elemental affinity of a Magus.
> 
> Taiga prods Kiritsugu after the spar to get him to correct Shirou's problem from her viewpoint. Kiritsugu agrees.
> 
> Back to Rin. This is her first lesson with Kirei post her initial interaction with Shirou. She reminisces about the Church's ties to her family and how the long history of Tohsaka's being Christians have been affected by their introduction to Zeltrech and Magecraft.
> 
> A lot of lore and deeper insight as to the lore of my version of the story is given here. Its a rehashing of what we know from canon but greatly expanded with my personal theories that don't break canon lore. Basically, the most important thing to note here is that Magic and True Magic, is the pinnacle of mystery. Mysteries are a silver of power all types that come from the Root. The Root is a repository of everything. Everything can and has been represented by a concept. It is literally impossible to exist without at least a meaning or concept of existence. Even nothingness is literally a concept. Thus, Mysteries are Concepts. At least with regards to magic.
> 
> Before, I mentioned that Elements are substances that shape up the textures in the reality marble of the world. Shirou's element of 'concepts' is an exception. Concepts don't govern things within the world, but rather things from a location outside of the world otherwise also known as the Root. Shirou's element governs the Root. Origins are also connected to the Root. Shirou is an incarnation. With his Origin and element being 'concepts'. Both his Origin and Element are connected and governing the root. For those of you that have noticed, I have modified the description of the story. Make of that what you will. This is my Chekhov's gun in this story. The Chekhov's gun has a bullet loaded and it has been cocked.
> 
> Rin enters the church and has her lessons with Kirei, part of the lessons is sparring. Kirei mentions her father and Rin does her best to run with the opportunity and find out more. Due to this, she grits her teeth and gives out an atypical answer to what she would normally give. Kirei gives an evasive reply and Rin is reminded that life takes effort to accomplish anything worthwhile.
> 
> Kiritsugu and Shirou travel to the Ryuudou temple. Kiritsugu has two agendas, to help Shirou with social interaction and to arrange for things after his death. Kiritsugu feels his mortality here as well as the reality that he can't get Illya back. This is part of his quest to do right by Shirou. We see his love and concern for Shirou here.
> 
> Issei Ryuudou is introduced to Shirou. They strike up a quick friendship due to both of them being serious people and their mature outlook in life. Contrary to Shirou's relationship with Rin. This is a natural friendship without any strings attached which is why Shirou is okay with being more open with Issei. Both Kiritsugu and Shirou's bond echoes out here with Kiritsugu being worried for Shirou and making arrangements after his death and Shirou being worried about Kiritsugu and making a deal with Rin to obtain knowledge to hopefully help Kiritsugu. Their father and Son bond is part of the reason as to why Shirou is so determined to find a way to cure him. Instead of being a Hero of Justice, this is my Shirou's obsession.


	11. The Justifications For Unethical Growths

It had been several months since Shirou had initially approached Rin, the sole living Magus of the Tohsaka mage bloodline and established a deal through a Geis in order to discover what was ailing his father and the cause of his weakening constitution as well as to gain access to what Shirou saw at the time as the only option to source a solution and cure to the problem.

Aside from Shirou's conditions there were also other aspects of the deal. He had promised to assist the Tohsaka Magus in her magical research as an assistant as well as promising not to reveal the details of any of her families magecraft. Forced into the deal, the female Magus at the time had not been happy.

Things had gotten better, while the initial confrontation of Shirou's clandestine activities and the subsequent interactions were frosty, Shirou liked to believe that they had developed some kind of a bond. Rin had initially been aghast at the concept of a Magus as her assistant that did not know the basic foundations of modern magecraft assisting her and had took on the responsibility to correct the error of the situation by imparting the basics of magecraft that the young Tohsaka had learned from her father before his untimely death in the fourth Holy Grail War.

Due to the lessons provided by her, there were many subsequent interactions and they spent quite an amount of time around each other nowadays. Shirou had settled into a routine with his partner and 'master' in Thaumaturgy. He would study under Rin as she taught him what was the basics of magecraft and through her months of tutorship, he had picked up the majority of the contents considered essential for the average mage to possess. She had in turn recognized that contrary to her initial reactions from the depth of his knowledge in magecraft, he was actually rather intelligent and had learned quickly. She had also discovered that Shirou often had unique insights into the different specific aspects of magecraft.

There had been a unique circumstance early on in Shirou's new apprenticeship that had involved both of them being curious about his elemental affinity and trying to find what it was. They had tried to use different methods to find out Shirou's affinity from tarot cards, to different spells, having Shirou use his magical energy to try to get a reactions from the different jewels that Rin possessed with different elemental affinities as well as even alchemy to try to get a hint of whatever element that Shirou possessed.

It was after much frustration that Rin finally gave up the quest to try to divine a hint of Shirou's elemental affinity. Rin was perplexed. Finding out the elemental affinity of a magus was not a difficult thing to do. Whether an individual had a single, multiple or even all elemental affinities could be discovered through a common test. Even individuals with strange elemental affinities such as Ether or even Imaginary Elements such as Imaginary numbers or Nothingness could find out their elemental affinity. Due to an individual's elemental affinity resonating with the connection to the textures of the earth, there was always a common anchor in which one would be able to find out their elemental affinity. Shirou was an exception. The only theory that Rin had was that whatever Shirou's element was, for one had to have an element, was an element that did not resonate with the world. It was not a major problem aside from failing to satisfy her curiosity, for whatever strange element Shirou had would not be a type of mystery that Rin could teach him anyway for even as an 'average one', a Magus who possessed elemental affinities to the five great elements, she still had some limits such as not possessing affinities to the Imaginary Elements.

Another part of the routine that Shirou had settled into with Rin was sparring. Rin's primary objective in sparring was to improve her skills in martial arts as well as to improve on her skills at reinforcement on herself. Reinforcement was part of the trio of basic skills also known as Material Transmutation. Material Transmutation involved the interference into the base property of an object. It involved the skills of Graduation Air, Alteration and Reinforcement. Graduation Air is considered a useless magecraft only to be used for immediate activities while Alteration while more practical was often less useful for regular uses.

Reinforcement was a different story however. Even though the reinforcement of an object was not useful by itself, the technique used in Reinforcement is extremely important as a basis for many types of magecraft. Reinforcement as a concept was to enhance the existence of the target by transferring Magical energy. Such a technique also served as the basic and most important foundation of the Tohsaka magecraft of the flowing and transferring of energy. Reinforcement was effectively what Rin was doing every time she stored magical energy into one of her jewels.

Due to the importance of Reinforcement as a technique, it was essential for a Magus to undergo regular practice with it. Aside from Reinforcement on an object, there was also Reinforcement on a living being, a much harder technique. While this was mostly ignored by the regular Magus. It was essential for a Scion of the Tohsaka family. Through Reinforcement of the human body, a Magus would be able to enhance every aspect of it, strength, speed, reflexes and even perception. For an individual slated to be involved in a high-level combat situation later on in her life, the skill was essential.

Unfortunately, it was a tremendously difficult technique with most gains from Reinforcement being negligible. This had led the vast majority of Magi to ignore this aspect of the technique and seek better and more permanent results from different rituals. It was a different situation for Rin who felt that she knew not enough about rituals and did not like the result of such rituals. As such, regular sparring practices with Shirou ensured that she would get ample practice at reinforcement on her own physique.

Another aspect of the routine and the most recent addition was one that Rin ensured that Shirou got ample practice in. Rin had initially been glad to see that Shirou appeared to have advanced mastery of Reinforcement even beyond her own level. She had planned to exploit this strength of the Emiya Magus into helping store magical energy into her jewels for use in spells.

Rin had run into a hurdle however, due to it not being her energy, she would not be able to use jewels stored with magical energy from Shirou. There was a simple solution to this problem. The solution was to have shirou store energy attuned to a specific element so that she would be able to use it. While Magi generally had an affinity to a specific or multiple elements, it was not impossible for a Magus to perform magecraft relating to other elements. The difficulty and skill involved is just greatly increased.

This solution had created a greater problem. Rin at her age of ten and a half had an extreme mastery in Jewel Magecraft even above the extent of what most Magi would achieve in their lifetimes. This was due to her elemental affinity to all elements granting her the title of an 'average one'. This was due to the nature of elements. Other than governing the base elements themselves, they also embodied the connection to similar concepts represented by the elements. Fire represents fuels and energy transfer, Earth represents the cultivating of energy and energy embedding, water represents the flow and manipulation of energy and air represented static and free energy. Due to her elemental affinities granting her a connection with these factors, the ease as well as the quality and quantity in which she could store energy into her jewels are greatly enhanced. Due to Shirou's unknown elemental affinity, the issue is reversed.

Due to not having a connection with any of the regular elements, Shirou having to convert his magical energy into one of a specific elements was significantly and greatly hampered by not having a regular elemental affinity. Even with his great skill at reinforcement, there were still many problems, one reoccurring problem was even currently happening…

* * *

"Crink" The silence was deafening. The noise in the room was non-existent akin to a void at the furthest and most tranquil parts of space. It was short however, upon what was effectively an instant but also forever through the perception of the witnesses, there was a loud shatter with shrapnel exploding, launching the constituent parts into all directions of the room and bouncing off the ground, making smaller noises every time they bounced off.

A sigh, a drop of the head, an accepted and resigned but no less devastating result had transpired once again.

"Shiiiiiirouuuu…. Could you please stop shattering and breaking my jewels? This is the fifth time this week!"

A chagrined expression, a sheepish shrug, an unavoidable outcome.

"I'm afraid not, this technique is just too hard to master for me. I don't think you seriously expected your demand to be effective in changing my skills… Did you?"

"Of course not!" She turned her head and folded her arms, huffing in a displeased manner, she then turned back and faced him again, this time with a pouting expression.

"I know this is hard for you, and as much as I would demand you try harder, I don't think that would work… But could you at least not have me dodge the effects every time I'm in the same room while you are doing this?"

"Rin… I don't think pouting is going to help… at least not by a significant margin…" Shirou looked amused as he stared at the pouting Magus now with her head down again. Shirou gained a mischievous expression and decided to diffuse the situation somewhat.

"Besides, if you pouted too much you would stay with that expression. How much would that mislead individuals that you are actually an innocent girl with nothing up your sleeves?"

"What! Shirou! You… you… you… Jerk!" Rin huffed again and stomped her way up the stairs and out of the basement workshop into her room.

Contrary to her interaction, Rin was actually much more sympathetic then she displayed. She remembered initially practicing her skills in storing energy in jewels several years back before her father's death. She used to also have problems and a plethora of different issues in this department as a child. Her greater impatience and lack of attention as a child had also served to hamper her. It was only through gaining a lot of advice and help from her father that she had been able to reach the extent of the skill she had today.

While she had some problems with the Tohsaka Jewel Magecraft when she was younger, she did not have problems to this extent. Nonetheless, looking at the progress that Shirou was making had served to console her and help forget her own embarrassing incidents in front of her father when learning her family's signature magecraft.

While Shirou's difficulties in this department had caused her a lot of issues as well as the loss of many jewels, it would eventually be worth it. Though Shirou would never be able to store as much energy nor be able to store energy of an advanced quality even if he mastered the skill, it would still be tremendously useful to Rin. Part of the Tohsaka Jewelcraft was in conserving one's own personal stores of magical energy while making sure to make the most efficient use of magical energy whenever possible.

Even with Shirou's lack of skill nor talent in this particular area, he would alleviate the burden on Rin to store some jewels with lesser and inferior quantities of magic. These were jewels that she would use for lesser and more mundane spells. She could in turn get a better variety in her arsenal by dedicating her time to jewels with higher capacities and purity of magical energy. This would allow her to have many jewels of inferior capacity and quality as well as many more jewels of superior capacity and quality. While Shirou appeared to be destroying her jewels at an unprecedented rate, her investment would eventually pay off….

It was several hours later that Rin had returned to her workshop. There was a drastic difference from her workshop several months ago and her workshop now. Even just looking at it, Rin could hardly even recognize her presence within it. The biggest difference, usually, was the presence of another Magus within her workshop. Shirou was not here at the moment but she had not registered the feeling of a tingle that would have signified that Shirou had left her house.

The basement workshop in the Tohsaka Mansion was a purpose built to be a magus workshop. It had thick walls and minimal interference with the mana of the outside world. The only entrance was the staircase out of the basement. It was a rather big room. Even bigger than the room she had designated as the sparring room several months back. It was also bigger than the living room.

Due to it only hosting the presence of a single magus, the room was usually cluttered, with an extra-large table in the middle, enchanted for durability in case of use of magecraft, many circular containers around the room, containing scrolls of magecraft from even hundreds of years ago, several chests, some locked securely with both magical and non-magical means and some without locks, books stacked in the corner, books stacked in the middle beside the table, books laid around on the floor haphazardly as well as some of the most expensive high quality jewels left around everywhere.

The room had changed majorly ever since she had granted Shirou the privilege of entering the workshop. While his main role was to assist her in her magecraft, he had often taken the time, occasionally even taking up to several hours to arrange her basement workshop into some semblance of order.

Before Shirou when Rin was left alone and with free reign across her workshop, she would often skip from one topic of magecraft to the next, learning what she wanted and what she could as she fancied. Her foundations of basic magecraft was stable, having learned and mastered it before her father's untimely demise in the fourth Holy Grail War three years ago. Her further education in magecraft was through learning with Kirei and involved getting a grasp of the theory of more advanced magecraft and then leaving her to master and conduct the practical portions herself. Being an extremely talented mage, she had accomplished her main objectives easily and was often left to boredom before Kirei's next lesson and had checked the more interesting aspects of her family's repositories and jumping off to another aspect. Due to this and not having any guests or family at home, she had developed the unseemly habit of leaving things around and not organizing them. She had still spent the majority of her time practicing spells from her magical crest and storing magical energy in jewels but she just had too much free time left and had gained this habit.

It was within the first few lessons that she was giving Shirou that he had gotten too annoyed in the environment he was going to spend much time in. In that instance, he had stopped the lesson that she was so graciously giving him and dragging her into his quests of organizing the basement workshop.

The first thing he did was source many empty shelves and cardboards from the several spare rooms of the Tohsaka Mansion and started to develop an order as to how her workshop should be organized.

At the time she was left flabbergasted about the impudence of her 'apprentice' but due to her pride as a Tohsaka Magus had to assist in organizing what was supposed to be her domain. It was a long project, spanning several days where she was left without time to do anything else before the basement workshop had turned into its current state.

The room was drastically transformed. It was now divided into three areas. The first, was an empty space spanning from the entrance staircase to the midpoint of the room. It was a space meant for the conducting of rituals as well as spells that took up more space to conduct.

The remaining half of the room was divided into two parts, one part with shelves full of books separated by a space within each shelf and the other part was organized by the containers of scrolls in the middle and the many chests stacked against the walls.

While she had thought it a waste of time and still did to an extent, she had to concede that it now provided a much better atmosphere as well as a better place to work compared to before. While she still left books or jewels around occasional, she could always rely on Shirou to clean them up.

Having finished her observations of her workshop, Rin decided to locate the presence of Shirou within her home. He had always stayed for several more hours after they finished their agendas for the day but she presumed that he was researching magecraft from her books or scrolls or cleaning up the workshop once again.

She first checked the kitchen though. Even as a girl at the age of ten, she had been able to cook at an acceptable, even great quality. She had to become self sufficient as it was troublesome to keep the presence of magecraft a secret while hiring a helper and it was also a waste of funds better used for jewels. She could have gone out for a meal everyday but it would have been an inefficient waste of a trip out when she could just buy ingredients and cook herself.

It was through an amusing incident several weeks in when she had located the presence of Shirou within her Kitchen. It was after a rather exhausting spar between them when she had wandered into a kitchen to make a cup of the tea she enjoyed and ran into Shirou whipping up a snack for himself.

She had not known that he could cook. She had not cared. There was nothing in their agreement that denoted her loaning out her kitchen. It was somewhat rude for him to use her kitchen without her permission. At the very least he could have also prepared something for her to enjoy, not that it would necessarily have been up to her standards or liking.

She had immediately prepared a reprimand until he had offered to cook up another portion and let her consume the current one he was cooking. Holding her tongue, she had remained sceptical of his skills at the culinary arts and had only taken a small initial bite to the dish. It was to her astonishment that it had tasted far better than anything she had made. While she had the funds, she never had the desire to consume a dish from a top chef but she could only think that Shirou's cooking was of that standard.

Of course, she would never compliment him out loud but she had indeed taken advantage of that incident to demand his talents when she required. He had of course naturally agreed with some disgruntled grunts of her taking advantage of him.

She had reached the kitchen and had found out that he was not in. She had then turned back and had located him in her study. His head was down, laying flat against a book on the table, he was asleep with light breathing noises. She took a few steps forward and taking care not to wake him up, removed the book from the table and his face, and taken a look at the cover of the book. It was a book that she knew came from the basement workshop but it was also one that she had not had the chance to read, having been cautioned by her father as a child.

It was a book about advanced types of curses in mythology. It was a book about real curses through magecraft and how they had been used throughout history. It involved the extreme details about the different variation of curses and how they had affected notable individuals throughout history. It was a rare tome due to it being sourced from the middle east where to study of Curses was much more advanced than the clocktower, the entity that the Tohsaka's were aligned with. The Tohsaka's would not normally care to obtain resources about such a subject but with the constant participation in Holy Grail Wars, it was best to be prepared for all eventualities. The most important fact that Rin noticed about the book Shirou was in the process of reading was that it also contained the methods to actualize curses.

Rin narrowed her eyes. When they had first made their deal, Shirou had indeed mentioned that this was the main part of magecraft within her family's repositories that he was after. It had somewhat slipped her mind but what she was looking at now seemed…. nefarious. Even if she conceded that she had indeed developed a bond with an individual she could almost call a friend, she had always maintained a bit of a distance, remembering how he had threatened her into the agreement. She decided that she could not in good conscience let him return today without at least knowing his motives for such research…

* * *

Shirou was currently in deep sleep from mental exhaustion. He had been researching for months and slowly making some headways into his main goal. To help aid his father from his suffering from the magical ailment. It was a complicated subject.

Normally, there was not much known about curses. It was not a subject actively pursued by the main magical authority in the world. Basic curses were mostly used as pranks for most curses of that level could be simply shrugged of with the activation and continuously flow of a mage's magical circuits. There was not much to be found about advanced curses, it was an often ignored subject and only actively pursued by the mage's from the middle east within their own magical cabals. There were better methods if a mage had wished harm or death on another individual.

While the basics of curses were simple and could be pursued by almost anyone with magical circuits, the further you got in, the more complicated it got. Curses run on a simple and basic aspect of magecraft. It is fuelled by mystery.

Curses are a type of Thaumaturgical foundation. A Thaumaturgical foundation is a set or pre-established rule, or a greater magic Formula or Formulae. A Magical formula is a program of magecraft where the magical circuits are activated and agitated in a specific manner so that when the command is sent towards the magical circuits, a spell will be activated and carried out.

A magical formula is used for the production of more efficient magecraft. Aside from just using raw magical energy in order to get a result or using rituals to invoke a result, a magical formula shapes an individual's magical energy into a specific manner as to use the minimal amount of magical energy in order to get a result.

Due to the world being able to be separated into substances or elements, there are different methods to shape an individual's magical energy in order to make use of an attribute of an element so as to be able to carry out magecraft efficiently. Mages can simply pour magical energy and attempt to invoke the result but it would often require the usage of too much magical energy or result in a failed or altered spell. Due to this, mages only feel comfortable with spells made with established magical formulae.

These types of magical formulae have taken years and generations of research in order to achieve and optimise the best result from the spell. For simpler and more mundane spells, there are common magical formulae that would work for every intent and spell a Magus could need with just an application of slightly more magical energy. It is only in more complicated spells that a unique magical formula was required.

Different Thaumaturgical foundations are often incompatible, only able to be used with great difficulty. This is one of the reasons western magecraft leaves an insignificant emphasis on Curses. There are also other reasons that western magecraft ignores the subject of Curses and that is due to the weakening of Curses as a Thaumaturgical foundation.

Thaumaturgical foundations run on a simple idea and truth in magecraft. If a concept can and might exist, it has existed and will exist in some form. The definite proof need not matter in such a scenario. As long as a concept exists and resides within the minds of individuals, 'faith' is produced within the particular subject. Even the rejection of such 'faith' need not matter since it still has the possibility of existing. It is through time and this 'faith' that the mystery of this particular concept grows and the Thaumaturgical foundation strengthens.

In the modern world with advanced technologies and developed philosophies of thought, Curses are abandoned and thought of as an archaic superstition. Even individuals in the past whom have not believed in curses will continue to contribute 'faith' towards it. In the modern world, individuals completely disregard and even forget about the possibility of Curses thus leading to the extreme weakening to this Thaumaturgical school.

Ironically, even mages who disregard the relevance of Curses contribute to the strengthening and continued survival of Curses by simply knowing its existence and its concept.

The reason that the Thaumaturgical school of magecraft has continued to exist is due to magic itself running on the concept of 'the ability or possibility to do the unknown'. As individuals will always strive for more and dream of greater possibilities, there will always be magic even if the word 'magic' itself is forgotten. Due to the continued existence of magic, there will always also be magecraft.

As a result of the weakening on the Thaumaturgical school on Curses, there had to be more complicated methods developed and more concepts included in order for Curses of a higher level to be conducted.

The modern version of curses was more detailed and complicated with it merging more with the concepts of spirituality than anything else. The mages from the Thaumaturgical school on curses have adapted their curses to only attack and carry out their effects on the soul rather than on the body. The curses also had to be anchored to other objects such as a puppet, doll or dying animals to carry out the same effects on an individual's soul. They have also been heard to be anchored to an individual's shadow.

It was due to the detailed studying into curses that Shirou had discovered that he had been going on the wrong path and that his past research across the months were for naught. Modern curses only attacked the soul and the more traditional curses from times long past were too difficult to activate for a modern magus. Kiritsugu's affliction was very clearly taking an effect on his body instead of his soul. This had led Shirou to only one conclusion, that whatever curse his father was suffering from was delivered by an individual from the past, most likely a spirit from the fourth Holy Grail War.

Shirou had not been too despondent, although he had suffered a major setback, there were still avenues of research to be made. Before he had met Rin, he had researched books on mythology for curses that could achieve the same effects as what Kiritsugu was suffering from but there were no specifics involved aside from simple tales and superstitions. With now the Tohsaka collection of information at his disposal, he had found a book that looked like what he required.

He had brought the book from the basement workshop into the study where he proceeded to read through the book. It was a rather gruesome true detail of what curses had struck individuals through history and their effects on such individuals. There were curses that turned their intestines into slush or curses that slowly replaced parts of their bodies with other objects. It was an exhausting read but Shirou persevered on, determined to find out what he needed. He had eventually fallen asleep with the book open through suffering from the mental exhaustion.

Shirou was a deep sleep but he slowly came out of the peaceful state from feeling a harsh shake of his shoulder. Still in a deep state of rest, he ignored the sensations until it became too violent to ignore. Still groggy, Shirou raised his head from the table, not noticing the absence of the book and came face to face with a dark black ball spell on the tip of Rin's fingers, pointing at him while carrying a harsh expression.

Alarmed, Shirou could only adopt a deer in the headlights look at Rin and question what he had done. "Have I offended you somehow recently, Rin?"

"Why were you reading that book on Curses!?"

"What motives do you have for reading such a book!?"

Not wanting to give her the real answer and still not fully awake, Shirou could only provide a half-hearted excuse.

"Arhm… I was curious…?"

It was a bad attempt, even to Shirou in his half alert state. It was apparently a worse answer to Rin.

"Don't you lie to me Emiya!" She shouted at him. She continued with a rant. "This book contains some of the darkest and most vile curses throughout history and some of the rituals to activate them! What could you possibly want with that?"

"Answer me!" She shouted again, visibly getting extremely impatient and progressively more dangerous with the spell on her fingertips.

"I was inte…" Shirou trailed off, stopping an attempt of another excuse. He then took a good look a Rin, tilting his head at several angles before his lips curved up slightly and he adopted a serious expression, seemingly having arrived at a conclusion.

Shirou then began solemnly with a serious tone. "You remembered when I told you that my adopted father, Kiritsugu Emiya had fought in the Holy Grail War?"

Rin nodded but remained silent with the spell still on her fingertips, a silent demand to continue.

"He survived the war and adopted me in the aftermath of the Fuyuki fire in the Shinto district… He was always a healthy individual but for a year now he has been getting progressively weaker in constitution for no apparent rhyme or reason. He wasn't even suffering from a disease and he had tried to hide it from me but the signs were obvious. He was most assuredly suffering from a magical ailment. I didn't think he had too much time left, maybe several years."

"Several months ago, I approached you hoping to get a source of information about such a condition from a Magus family…"

"You were trying to find the cause and a cure?" Rin asked with a softening expression but had kept the spell on her fingertips up, albeit with what seemed like a weaker input.

"I think he is suffering from a Curse, one caused by a Heroic Spirit… What I hope to achieve should be obvious…"

"Your goal does seem very innocent but what guarantee do I have that you are telling the truth? You have gotten details into some very dangerous material, some which could even circumvent your Geis and kill me."

"I… I… I could introduce you to him?" Shirou said weakly before continuing with a hurried tone. "But it would have to be in a years' time, when we go to Junior High school so that we could claim to be schoolmates… I don't want him to know what I'm doing."

Rin lowered her hand and cancelled the spell. Not providing a verbal response but responding with a nod and a smile of relief. She placed the book back on the table and walked out of the room, going back to her room so that she could think on his words. It appeared that he had her approval.

What Shirou had promised was the most that he could think of. The main prefecture that had governed the laws of Fuyuki had provided a special exemption for Fuyuki citizens affected by the fire. What it involved was an exception made for individuals to carry on their education for several years under their guardians before the infrastructure of Fuyuki was restored and ready to receive students.

Shirou had only been to the Shinto district several times after the fire but from what he could see even three years after the fire and an extensive building project had not been enough to complete most of the building projects. It would be until next year till what would be the only Junior High school in Fuyuki was constructed. Shirou had hoped that with the year he currently had left where he had ample time that he could discover a solution to Kiritsugu's problem.

Due to the changes and exception made for citizens of his age group, they would only enter Junior High school, at the age of eleven and study for five years until the age of fifteen before entering and studying for three years at the only high school that resided currently in Fuyuki City, the school that Taiga was currently studying in, Homurahara Academy…

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

**This chapter is basically an interlude chapter spanning the details of what had happened in the few months since the last chapter.**

**Throughout this chapter my goals were basically to develop Rin and Shirou's relationship more through a natural progression of months and settling into routines.**

**More lore is also provided as well as more generic basic laws for readers less familiar with Fate. I also go into a bit of detail of their routines and skill levels and why Rin is such a talented Magus even at her age of ten. I'm boosting up Shirou's ability compared to canon Shirou throughout my story but more detail into Rin's magecraft as well as a greater appreciation of her skill was nice to include. The lore into the Magical system of my story if also given and the part about elements will me important later. The first part is basically a summary of the several months that have passed.**

**We see Shirou's problem with the aspect of 'Tohsaka Magecraft' of transferring and pouring magical energy even with his immense skill of reinforcement on objects. We also see how Shirou's and Rin's bonds have advanced and also some more incidents of the months in between.**

**Rin discovers Shirou's research and gets suspicious as well as a tiny bit hurt that Shirou could be researching on ways to harm her.**

**We skip back to Shirou's side to find out his progress on finding a cure to Kiritsugu's cure as well as more lore about what Curses are and his progress in his quest. We find out more detailed lore which is completely canon but expended with other aspects of canon lore from the different franchises of Type-Moon that are technically in the same universe. We also discover more details on the Curse of Angra Mainyu and why what Shirou is reading had Rin so alarmed.**

**Rin questions Shirou and Shirou sort of makes and excuse but eventually decides that he knows Rin's character well enough and he can trust her. Rin discovers Shirou's quest and has an internal sigh of relief that Shirou is actually her friend and not actively seeking to harm her. She discovers more about Kiritsugu Emiya and Shirou makes a promise to reassure her that he is telling the truth about his goal. This effectively breaks a barrier between them where they can actually be friends instead of just Magical friends that tease each other.**

**An explanation is given as to why they aren't currently in school, some lore on the consequences of the Fuyuki Fire as well as setting up a timeskip to when they go to school in the next chapter.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> This chapter is basically an interlude chapter spanning the details of what had happened in the few months since the last chapter.
> 
> Throughout this chapter my goals were basically to develop Rin and Shirou's relationship more through a natural progression of months and settling into routines.
> 
> More lore is also provided as well as more generic basic laws for readers less familiar with Fate. I also go into a bit of detail of their routines and skill levels and why Rin is such a talented Magus even at her age of ten. I'm boosting up Shirou's ability compared to canon Shirou throughout my story but more detail into Rin's magecraft as well as a greater appreciation of her skill was nice to include. The lore into the Magical system of my story if also given and the part about elements will me important later. The first part is basically a summary of the several months that have passed.
> 
> We see Shirou's problem with the aspect of 'Tohsaka Magecraft' of transferring and pouring magical energy even with his immense skill of reinforcement on objects. We also see how Shirou's and Rin's bonds have advanced and also some more incidents of the months in between.
> 
> Rin discovers Shirou's research and gets suspicious as well as a tiny bit hurt that Shirou could be researching on ways to harm her.
> 
> We skip back to Shirou's side to find out his progress on finding a cure to Kiritsugu's cure as well as more lore about what Curses are and his progress in his quest. We find out more detailed lore which is completely canon but expended with other aspects of canon lore from the different franchises of Type-Moon that are technically in the same universe. We also discover more details on the Curse of Angra Mainyu and why what Shirou is reading had Rin so alarmed.
> 
> Rin questions Shirou and Shirou sort of makes and excuse but eventually decides that he knows Rin's character well enough and he can trust her. Rin discovers Shirou's quest and has an internal sigh of relief that Shirou is actually her friend and not actively seeking to harm her. She discovers more about Kiritsugu Emiya and Shirou makes a promise to reassure her that he is telling the truth about his goal. This effectively breaks a barrier between them where they can actually be friends instead of just Magical friends that tease each other.
> 
> An explanation is given as to why they aren't currently in school, some lore on the consequences of the Fuyuki Fire as well as setting up a timeskip to when they go to school in the next chapter.
> 
> Some answers to questions:
> 
> Shirou is connected to the Root.
> 
> The pairing is definitely Shirou/Saber when we reach that point
> 
> Shirou's Origin is sword and 'concept's' with 'concepts' being slightly stronger due to it being his Original Origin. His element is 'concepts' governing aspects outside of the world instead of inside of the world like regular elements. Due to Shirou's Origin of 'sword' being more as in he embodies the concept of a sword due to Avalon, his element of 'concepts' governs a 'concept of a sword' thus making him basically a dual incarnation even though he doesn't have 'sword' as an element.
> 
> This Shirou doesn't have guilt from being the only survivor of the fire since this is an alternate universe. This Shirou is actually arguably worse than Kirei since he lost his memories from the fire and is empty but without morals and social awareness due to the lost memories from the fire. He is internally good but without the knowledge of morals. Kiritsugu has chats about being a hero of justice but doesn't actively educate Shirou about morals since those go out of the window in Kiritsugu's life.
> 
> He is aware of Kiritsugu's childhood dream of being a Hero of Justice but his obsession is with Kiritsugu as his savior and father, hence his current quest.
> 
> Also some clarification about his current skill level:
> 
> Shirou is a pretty good swordsman, an amazing one really. His current skill and only in skill is about the exact level of Shiki Ryougi in swordsmanship but without actual combat experience and enhancement except for canon Shirou's level of reinforcement at this point but he's also ten, so...
> 
> He's pretty decent in magecraft but due to his element being 'concepts' will have trouble with most things until he knows how to utilize 'concepts'. He won't know how to use his connection to the Root for a long while yet.
> 
> His knowledge of magecraft in theory is equivalent to Rin with her knowing more specific stuff in more topics but Shirou knowing more intricacies of specific parts of magecraft due to his Origin instincts. His knowledge of base magecraft is the same as Rin.


	12. The Denouement of an Obsession, Part 1

It was a new day. It was not a day in which he would be able to conduct his regular routine. He had hoped that he would have made more progress by now. He hadn't. Shirou had currently opened his eyes and was staring through the slit of the slightly opened doors of the storehouse in the secondary building of the Emiya residence that had served its primary role as a magical workshop.

He had chosen to fall asleep in the workshop as he had spent the previous night practicing his magecraft. It was faster that way and he hadn't felt the need to enjoy the sensation of sleeping in his life. It was fine. While it was not the best place to sleep, it was comfortable enough he supposed. He had been spending more and more time within the storehouse workshop sleeping as compared to his room recently. The last few months before he was mandated to attend education at the newly built Junior High School in the Shinto District was up. It had gone by too quickly.

After his first foray, he had delved more into advanced curses and more books on mythology. After revealing the truth about his quest to help his father's condition, Rin had given her approval and had even occasionally assisted him in his research. His quest to find a solution had become more difficult upon discovering that it was likely a heroic spirit from the Holy Grail War that had cursed his father.

The Heroic Spirit had likely been a caster or an assassin but Shirou had supposed that mattered little. The war was over anyway and the Heroic Sprit was back in the throne of heroes. What was the root of the difficulty was in finding a solution to heal his father that would overwrite the properties of a curse cast by a Heroic Spirit.

There were many ways to heal an individual once they were aware of the existence of magic. It was not that simple however. This was a curse. This was not just a simple injury. This was cast by a Heroic spirit. There were ways the heal the malady of what Kiritsugu was suffering from but even if he was successful, there was still the likely chance that the curse would continue in spite of the alleviated symptoms. It could even trigger the curse to enter into a more advanced state which would kill his father faster, torturing him more as he died.

Shirou had already dismissed the possibility of using healing as a method of curing his father's condition. There were already many stories in mythology that Curses would tend to bypass even the most potent healing methods. Many of those stories were Greek tragedies, set during the Age of Gods. If healing Magic then had failed to defeat the effects of a curse, what was Shirou who was far in both skill and power compared to a Magician from the age of gods to do?

Shirou had confided in Rin his troubles but there was not much more she could do. As much as she was apologetic, it didn't help Shirou any. He had thanked her for her efforts of course, but he believed he had an extra avenue that he could pursue to help his father as compared to the situation of a dead end that Rin had believed his quest to currently be at.

The only avenue he had was something that his friend was not aware of. There had been no need to tell her. Shirou wasn't sure that it would be prudent anyway. In the world of Magi, it was generally extremely private and a massive faux pas to inquire of another's Origin, much less the exact details. Not that it had mattered if one was truly determined but generally almost all of the Mages in the modern age had not tried, been able to or had failed to awaken their Origin. Even if they did, they generally didn't comprehend the significance and didn't know what to do with it.

Ever since his initial discovery of his Origins, as well as his advancement in comprehending what his abilities could do in the recent year and through further grounding in the foundations of magecraft by Rin. He had discovered the immense potential of his abilities. He had learned that through a technique similar in basis to Reinforcement, he could impose a 'concept' within the existence of an object.

Even if he were to pick up the flimsiest blade of grass, as long as he imposed the concept of 'to destroy through brute force' or 'smash', the blade of grass even when hit against a cement block would easily shatter the block. His abilities weren't that straightforward however, whatever concept he imposed, he found that it had worked best against items devoid of the presence of magecraft or magic.

While he could impose the concept of 'smash' upon a blade of grass, as long as he smashed it against a magical barrier, the barrier would hold and the grass would snap in half. This was due to the barrier's natural purpose to forbid access by all means. Unless he had specifically imposed a concept to work against the barrier, generally efforts to break a barrier were futile. It was also enhanced by the fact that the barrier was built with magecraft. Shirou had discovered that when something was enhanced by magical energy, the effectiveness of his 'concepts' were hindered and harder to actualize against them.

There was a solution to this however, while Shirou's abilities derived from his activated Origins, they had still cost magical energy, however little. To impose a 'concept' on a blade of grass and have it be effective against a non-magical object was simple. To have it be effective against a magical object would require Shirou to inject more magical energy when he created a new purpose for an object. The amount of magical energy Shirou had contributed was directly proportional to the effectiveness of his imposing of a 'concept'.

Through his lessons in the nature of Magecraft, Shirou had found out why this was. Noble Phantasms for a Heroic Spirit were the crystallization's of their legends. Their power was sourced from the 'Legend' of the Heroic Spirit, created from the 'faith' that their fame accumulated. What Shirou did was similar in that he crystallized a 'concept' upon the existence of an object but instead of 'faith' the crystallization's of the concepts were fueled by Shirou's magical energy.

This was the situation at the heart of the issue. The effectiveness of the 'concept' was proportional to the amount of energy he had input. While at its base level, he could input a pathetic amount of magical energy and have it be reasonably effective and his abilities were extremely cost efficient, what he was dealing with here was a curse by a Heroic Spirit. It would not be as simple.

Heroic Spirits were entities so far beyond regular mortals that it was almost absurd. Just the raw power that the crystallization's of their legends provided them in the form of 'faith' would be far beyond the maximum output of even a hundred mages in magical energy. No matter what effectiveness Shirou had achieved in his abilities in imposing a 'concept', what it would delve into was a contest of magical energy of Shirou's surprisingly potent and plentiful twenty-seven circuits against the sheer legend of a Heroic Spirit. There was no chance in hell he was winning the battle. At least not in his current state at his current age of eleven.

Shirou had not gave up on his quest however. He was never one to think linearly, if he couldn't meet the root of the problem head on, he would have to bypass the problem. He would think out of the box and find another method to solve his problem. It was through his quest to find a way around the problem that Shirou had gained a new depth of understanding about his abilities regarding 'concepts'. This depth of understanding had also unlocked a new level of his abilities regarding the awareness of 'concepts' in different objects. It had also unlocked further potential for Shirou to exploit.

Objects were made from raw materials; a table was made out of wood. Their purposes and thus 'concepts' that they embodied were different however. A piece of wood could from the leg of a table could come from a tree branch. The purposes and 'concept' that the tree branch contained were different from the table. When the branch was made into the leg of the table, it had its reason's for existence rewritten. It gained new purposes and thus aspects of new 'concepts'.

An object tended to have many different concepts that Shirou could sense. A kitchen knife had the most basic and major concept which was simply 'to cut'. It also had other concepts depending on the manner it was constructed. A mass-produced kitchen knife made from stamped sheet metal aside from the basic concepts also had less important sub concepts which were to positive or negative benefit such as 'durability' or 'common' signifying it being made on mass. There were also many more sub concepts.

The concept of 'common' had served to hurt the existence of the knife. Due to it being 'common' the effectiveness of each of the concepts imbued within the knife's existence were weakened. 'To cut' was less effective and 'durability' was less true. A purpose made chef's knives from the more durable methods of forging had a different sub concept. Aside from the greater raw durability of the method, it also contained concepts such as 'rare' and 'valuable' as well as 'purpose built'.

The different concepts of the purpose-built knife served to enhance its existence in every single aspect. It enhanced the durability to levels that would never break in mortal hands without extreme conditions or magecraft as well as enhancing the base quality of the knife sharpness to absurd levels. These were effects that were easily displayed in real life.

Through this revelation, Shirou had more easily been able to sense the basic 'concepts' of everything in his life as well as the sub concepts. He had also discovered the root to increase the potency of his magecraft. Instead of just simply imposing the 'concept' of what he wanted to do onto an object, he had to impose a purer and more undiluted version of the 'concept' that he wanted to use. Instead of just creating a new reason of existence for an object, he had to make the object actually the reason itself. Instead of just creating an object with a different primary existence, he had to instead create a Conceptual Object.

This was where Shirou truly got the true scope of his abilities. Every Magus was connected to the Root through their Origin. A Magus who has awakened that Origin would have a greater connection to the Root. What Shirou needed to do was to delve deeper within his Soul and actually use his Origin to the Root to actually impose the purest form of a 'concept' and rewrite the existence of the object.

If he had mastered his abilities to the greatest extent, rather than use his admittedly formidable amounts of magical energy that he could produce as fuel, he could instead use the raw weight and power of the 'concept' itself as the fuel for its own existence. This would be the only way that he would be able to overcome the power of a Curse cast by a Heroic Spirit. If his abilities ever reached that level, it would even be easy to complete such a minor feat.

Would it ever be that simple? No. Such an ability would be unprecedented and would definitely be a true magic by itself. It would be the denial of all three laws of Thermodynamics and be the creation of self-perpetuating energy without any consequences. It would use its own 'concept' as well as the fundamental laws of the universe as its own fuel. Such an ability would require an actual gate to the Root to actualize such a mystery.

Would it be possible however? It might have been. It was a year ago but he still had a perfect memory of the incident that had resulted in the awakening of his Origin. It was but a moment and it was an artificial temporary connection to the Root that allowed it to occur but he had indeed created a conceptual object. While it felt more like the universe had allowed it to happen than anything else, he would indeed try to obtain that level again using his Origin as an access point.

Those were just the optimal scenarios however, what he had done across the months was trying to get to that point by improving his skills and slowly optimizing his methods in order to create a purer 'concept' onto an object. He was not very successful.

He was improving day by day, and he had managed to make some headway and improve his abilities by leaps and bounds. But it was still a minimal, almost insignificant progress at the end of things. Today was the day he would have to go to school for the first time in his life after the fire as mandated by the government but time was running out and now, he had even less time than he had to play with in the first place.

Shirou let out any sigh as he looked at the moon still up in the sky and decided to stop his reminiscence. It was time to begin his routine anyway and his school was in the Shinto District and he had promised to meet Rin at the Fuyuki Bridge before walking to school together. For some strange reason, the school had mandated that the students were to be in attendance two hours earlier at six-thirty than the only High School in Fuyuki, Homurahara academy…

* * *

Shirou walked towards the Fuyuki bridge. The sky was still dark, the sun had not risen yet. The Fuyuki bridge was the only bridge that linked the two districts in Fuyuki together. It was a large steel structure that stretched across hundreds of meters to the other side of Fuyuki. Even at this early hour, it was populated with rows of cars across every lane, full of individuals in their vehicles clambering to get to work.

The Fuyuki Bridge was a large bridge, with four lanes of road for cars in both directions, adding up to a total of eight lanes. It also had walkways at both sides for individuals journeying on foot. It was a rather mundane bridge, carrying the same famous rusted red color of steel that had so adorned many other famous bridges across dozens of different countries. The bridge was not lit up except for lampposts on the walkways for illumination. It was still however bright with a variety of different lights shining from the different vehicles that had populated the bridge at this early hour.

As he walked up to the bridge, he saw a familiar figure. She was wearing a different color to what she usually adorned. She was wearing a light blue instead of her normal ensemble of red. The school uniform that Shirou was sporting was a regular generic white uniform with light blue stripes at various parts. The female version of the same uniform was largely the same. The only alteration she had made was to bear an extra layer in the form of a sky-blue jacket. It was rather cold in the morning and Shirou had done the same, wearing his scarf of the same color but a darker shade as compared to her jacket.

She hadn't noticed him yet. It was rather weird to not see her in what he had associated with her color he supposed. He almost associated her with a different individual but it was still her all the same. Having made his observations, Shirou walked up to his friend.

"You are here early Rin? I hadn't expected you to arrive before me. I know the Tohsaka mansion is closer to the middle of the city but it is still a surprise to see you here first."

"Erghhhehhh" A grumpy and indistinguishable noise escaped the female. She turned her head to look at him, greeting him with an exhausted and sleepy expression. Every part of her was styled well, her hair was in her customary twin locks of hair fastened with two ribbons, her uniform was immaculate but her face was the only thing out of place here.

It appeared that she hadn't woken up completely yet. He should have expected this. It was several hours before she was supposed to wake up. It was a miracle she had even managed to get ready this early to await him before going to school. He had already been warned about her appearance in the early morning. He had learned not to visit the Tohsaka Mansion too early after a single incident in which he woke her up at too early an hour.

They started walking across the bridge, both of them were silent. She was walking slowly, her footsteps dragging across the pavement. He had tried to strike up a conversation but all she gave were half aware nods and grunts. He was relieved that they had agreed to wait for each other before traveling to the school at the other side of the city.

The Miyama District where they resided was a quieter and less busy district with less cars. The Shinto District stood in stark contrast to that. Even at an early hour, every lane of every street was filled with cars. The individuals driving were often impatient, bending the laws of the road as well as driving too quickly for such a crowded situation. It was a dangerous situation for inattentive individuals to traverse. At her state of awareness in the morning, Shirou did not fancy her chances of negotiating her way to the school safely…

"Oh? This is a rather affluent establishment; I did not expect this to be so rich in facilities."

Shirou was startled, her voice had come out of nowhere. He could have sworn a moment ago that she was still a zombie. He had to agree with her all the same. The school was unexpectedly grand for a Junior High School. From its sheer size, he determined that it was rather rich in facilities as well beyond the opulent furnishings.

"It could be due to donations? The previous school was burnt down by the Fuyuki fire after all, there had to be an abundant of benefactors seeking to place their names alongside the building of a new establishment to repair what was lost in such a famous incident."

"Also, are you finally awake?"

Shirou narrowed his eyes at Rin, looking for any signs of sleepiness. It was a strange phenomenon every time she transitioned from her lethargic to awake states. It was an abrupt transition where one moment she would be dead to the comings and goings of reality and the next moment she would be bouncing and energetic and ready to tease him at any moment.

She snubbed his question by not giving a reply, adopting the same reaction as him and tilting her head and looking at him from various angles as though also examining his state of being. Shirou, annoyed by her teasing had turned around and walked briskly into the main foyer of the school.

The school was a large establishment placed without much consideration to its location right in the middle of the Shinto District of the city. It was rather strange to look upon the school, it was a massive establishment for just a Junior education center but it was also surrounded by tall buildings and skyscrapers that dwarfed its vertical size.

From the outside, one could observe that the school consisted of five levels. It was made with modern architecture with the entrance being a square with trees and benches around. It had several open spaces with what seemed like abstract structures to act as art decoration. It was the definition of modern luxury but it had a more generic feel as though the structures and organization of the school was meant to give off the feel of opulence but without any true soul behind the design.

After walking a hundred meters into the main entrance square, one would be greeted by a massive foyer surrounded by glass and marble. The rest of the school was separated by several different blocks, all with five stories. There were also several courtyards across the school as well as other open spaces for outdoor sports as well as two grass fields. There was nothing special about the rest of the school, everything that was observable was constructed with the usage of glass, aiming to give a modern and futuristic look. It was a large establishment for such a small city with a student population of slightly less than ten thousand.

They had assembled in a large hall that had three levels of seating. Only the biggest and bottom layer was currently occupied. It was full of hundreds of chairs and tables in front of them. Each chair and table set were also separated by a meter from the next set. After taking the attendance, the different teachers had given each student a number and told them to take a seat. It appeared that there would firstly be an entrance test to determine the standing of each student before splitting them into different classes.

They were given several tests continuously across the day. The tests were of different subjects meant to test the aptitude of a student in a particular aspect. Shirou had found the tests easy but he was a special case as in order to comprehend magecraft, especially magecraft of the next level, one often had to master subjects like Maths and Science in all their different aspects to a high level in order to work with the concepts that determine the laws of the universe.

After the lasts of the tests, they were given an orientation as to the basics of school life as well as the structure of the new school. They were given a tour of the school before being dismissed into their assigned classes based on the results of the different tests. Due to this, the students of his year were currently gathered in front of a board in a hallway. There were pieces of paper with names on it in alphabetical order, the pieces of paper were sorted by the different classes.

Shirou had spotted his name on the list a while ago, he had also spotted other familiar names. Rin was of the same class as him as well as a friend he had met over half a year ago. Issei Ryuudou. He had read the list and turned to seek the location of his class but before he went in that direction, he spotted a head of black hair at the back of the crowd, waiting patiently for the crowd to disperse before finding his assigned place.

"Oi! Issei!"

"Oh, Emiya. Of course, you are here too. Have you seen your determined class yet?"

"Well yes I have. In fact, we are in the same class Issei. This hall is too crowded at the moment. Let us go find our classroom."

It was a short walk. Their classroom was the first level at the front of the block of buildings beside the main block which contained the hall, as well as the canteen. As the pair of friends navigated their ways around the hallways of the school, they caught up with what each other had been doing the past year before attending Junior High.

"Ah, Issei, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine. She should be here already. I don't think I saw her loiter in the hallway; she must have been one of the first students to see her placement."

As the pair of friends walked in the class, the pair were greeted by the sight of students at the various parts of the classroom, socializing and getting to know each other. They were also greeted by what was a crowd at the back of the classroom. The crowd seemed to surround a familiar figure, as though attracted by the gravitational pull of her charisma.

Shirou grabbed Issei's arm and walked up to her. The crowd seemed to part for their entrance to their sphere upon seeing the recognition in the eyes of what seemed like the leading figure. Shirou walked in front of her and opened his arm and gestured towards her.

"Issei Ryuudou, this is Tohsaka Rin, a friend of mine that I have known for some time."

Issei seemed to react differently to what Shirou had expected. At first glance, it seemed like Issei had reacted to something and almost flinched away. It had puzzled Shirou. What would cause such an extreme reaction? The only thing that he could think of was that Issei somehow knew that she was a Magus but that was impossible for he would have sensed Shirou too. Failing that, even if he failed to recognize Shirou as a Magus, it would require another Magus to sense her and Shirou was certain that either Rin or him would know if Issei was a Magus in that situation. Regardless of Shirou's musings, Issei soon quickly reoriented himself and placed a finger to push up his glasses before holding out his hand.

"Oh, you are a friend of Shirou? It is nice to meet you; I hope that I will have your guidance and help in the future."

Rin bowed as she shook Issei's hand. Her demeanor was so different as to how she normally acted. Her expressive blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she adopted a facade that was almost the stereotypical image of the perfect schoolgirl. It was an incredibly foreign expression and it immediately threw Shirou off from pondering too much about Issei's reaction to her. Was this why what seemed like almost half the class had gathered around her? This strange pretence of being the perfect student?

Shirou was about to question Rin about her motives of displaying such a front when a male middle-aged adult, presumably their teacher walked in. This was already the last period of the day. The rest of the day had been taken up by the placement tests as well as orientation. The teacher had gone through more administrative matters before relaxing with several announcements.

"Firstly, due to this being a new school, there is no current student council in place. A year without any student leadership will be undertaken before a student council will be established the next year. Students aiming to be on the council should display exemplary behavior and leadership skills."

"Secondly, after the second week of school, students must start the application to join or create a club. This is a compulsory requirement for all students but rest assured for this in a new school rich in facilities and you will be guaranteed to have an enjoyable choice in the club of your choosing."

There were several more announcements but Shirou had not taken note of them beyond the second one. This would be a large setback to his quest. While he had accepted that when he entered Junior High, he would have less time to work on his abilities to find a cure for his father, this would even further limit his time where he would only have less then half a dozen hours to work with.

His progress at improving his abilities to possibly cure his father's problem had already slowed to a crawl. He had recognized that the way forward was with persistence and constant hard work and practice but this… this would limit the only path he had.

The rest of the period had gone by uneventfully. They had been given some time to socialize more with their classmates, a slot that Shirou noticed Rin seemed to use to its maximum. They had then been dismissed to return to their respective homes.

The class had split and Shirou was currently walking with Rin to the Fuyuki Bridge where they would split to their respective homes. Shirou was currently having a conversation with Rin about their school when Shirou had questioned Rin about her strange behavior at school.

"Rin, why did you act so strangely at school?"

"Don't I act like that all the time Shirou?"

The only reply that Shirou felt was apt to return as a reaction to her absurd reply was a deadpan look.

"Maybe this is just how I act around regular people?"

"Are you sure Rin? This dosen't quite seem like you. You aren't normally so… innocent."

"Maybe I am? You didn't make the best first impression on me after all, what with threatening me and all."

"Still though. What are you trying to do Rin? Unless, you want to do as the teacher said and actually aim to become part of the student council?"

"Exactly! I asked around before coming to school today. I was already aware of the requirement of joining a club and I thought that it would be fun to be part of the student council."

Rin adopted a cheerful expression after she had stopped playing the game of teasing with him. He was perplexed, what would be fun about being part of the student council?

"Fun?"

She nodded. "It's a unique experience after all. I know you have lost your memories after the fire but I recall being in a school before the fire. While having friends that you can never quite let into your reality of being a Magus is annoying, it is still fun to socialize around. They didn't have a student council in the lower levels of education but I think that being part of one would be fun as well."

"Fun…" This was whispered by Shirou as he pondered the ramifications. Rin was quiet the whole way to the bridge where they split. She still maintained her cheerful demeanor, humming a cheerful tune as she went. While he knew that she had a mischievous personality, she was not normally this cheerful.

While Shirou did not have a depressing personality, he did not quite understand having fun. He enjoyed deriving enjoyment from actions. He derived enjoyment from mastering and practicing his magecraft. He derived some enjoyment from cooking. He supposed that it would not be a concept that he would comprehend in the near future. He had other things to consider. There were far worse emotions to endure if he spurned his goal at the moment for the quest of having 'fun'.

He accepted that he would not discover what was 'fun' for the moment, what was important was that he optimized the time he did have to work on his magecraft. Nevertheless, he pondered more about fun. While he knew he derived enjoyment from actions, he wondered if through experiencing this 'fun' would he be able to finally rid himself of his emptiness in life.

Ever since he had started on his single-minded goal on nullifying the curse on his father, he had felt less and less of that constant emptiness with every breakthrough and advancement in his quest. This was a temporary goal however and while it satisfied some of his emptiness in life by having a determined goal, he knew whether he failed or succeeded in his goal that he would have to get rid of the emptiness that he constantly felt in life in some other manner…

* * *

It had been half a year since he had entered into the Fuyuki Junior High school. With all perspectives from the outside, he had done well so far. He had maintained consistently high grades in his classes. He was along with Rin and Issei at the top of the class. It had been half a year and there had already been mutterings about who would be part of next years student council. Rin through her model student attitude had been one of the more common mutterings alongside Issei with his serious and responsible demeanor. It was expected that one of them would be student council president and the other the vice at the start of next year.

Shirou would have been one of the nominees based on his grades alone but he was disqualified on the basis that he was extremely unapproachable. Even with half a year in his new class, his only friends were the duo that he had made even before the school had started. He didn't mind his disqualification. Being part of the student council meant more responsibilities. Responsibilities that took time that he needed for his quest.

He had been forced to join in a club as part of the school policy. While it may seem natural for him to have joined the Kendo club on account of his skills, he accepted that none of the other club members would be able to keep up with him anyway. He had instead joined the club which had the least and shortest practice sessions. He had joined a literature club and had only done what was required. Nothing more. It would only further limit his time for his quest.

Things had gone from bad to worse in his quest. He had even less time to work with now and he had barely made any progress. Taiga had graduated from Homurahara academy recently and was waiting for an application to a university. In the meantime, she had been waltzing into the Emiya residence and demanding her presence be recognized every time she entered at every possible opportunity.

Shirou recognized that he bore some affection for his sister figure but as much as he often found her antics amusing, this was not what he needed at the moment. He would often have to take time away from his quest just to entertain her eccentricities. It was getting progressively more and more annoying each instance that he had to leave his pursuit of his quest.

Now was currently one of the moments that he had some free time away and was assured that she would not be here in the near future. She had gone for a week's tour across the country's different universities to determine her choices in the future. Shirou was currently working on a recent breakthrough in his magecraft that would be of use towards his goal.

He had run into a barrier once he realized that even if he were to imbue a concept such as 'nullification against all curses' onto an object, it would not necessarily take effect on his father. Even if it were to take effect, there had to be some penalty to its effectiveness due to the concept being limited by the object.

He was already fighting against a curse by a Heroic Spirit, he had to optimize every part of the process in order to gain a chance to defeat the Curse on his father. Any disadvantage that he had to suffer in the process was unacceptable. He had to find a way around to bottleneck.

It was through this realization that he made his breakthrough. He would have to apply the concept directly to Kiritsugu. The problem was same as with reinforcement however. The problem was that a Mage's circuits would naturally resist the effects of any magical energy. While the resistance could be easily bypassed, it would create an inefficiency in which some of the effects were nullified. This wasn't even taking into account of the natural resistance of the curse against getting nullified. Even if what he was doing was nearing the realms of True Magic, its classification would be useless if the effects weren't strong enough to solve his issue.

This had caused a change in Shirou's routine. Instead of just trying to utilize a purer form of a concept more connected to the Root, he would first have to practice directly imposing the concept upon an individual before mastering that portion of his abilities. Shirou had found some success in applying the concept directly to himself.

What Shirou had done in his practice of magecraft was similar to reinforcement but at an unprecedented level. Reinforcement on a human was difficult enough. What he was doing was even more so. Every instance he applied a concept on himself such as 'as swift as the wind' he was effectively rewriting his own existence and forcing the world as well as the Akashic Records to note that Shirou Emiya had always been the physical embodiment of the concept of being as swift as the wind.

What he was doing was not impossible for there had been Heroic Spirits that had been the embodiment of concepts. Heracles the Greek demigod was said to be the embodiment of brute force both through his deeds in life and through his legend. Arthur Pendragon the King of the Britons was said to be the embodiment of chivalry and the perfect knight.

When Shirou had applied the concept of 'as swift as the wind', he was by all definitions, the physical embodiment of a being as fast as the fastest winds. When Shirou had imposed the concept on himself, for the length of time that the concept was active, Shirou would be able to move a third the speed of sound.

That was not extremely impressive for even an average Executor or Hunter of the Mage's association would be able to exceed that speed. While Shirou could not reach that speed at his current age with reinforcement, he was not that far off either. The only benefit was that rather than reinforcing every part of him such as his reflexes, perception as well as muscles to reach that speed, he could instead place his mental focus elsewhere as the ability made every part of him as swift as the wind.

Shirou had tried for more and had found out that the more absurd the concept such as 'Strength to lift mountains', the harder it was to actually comprehend the concept itself as well as apply the concept. There were two parts to imposing a concept directly. First, he had to comprehend the weight of the concept. This allowed him to impose a purer and more effective concept at the cost of having to comprehend the full ramifications of a concept mentally. After comprehending the weight of the concept chosen, he would then have to actually apply the concept.

It would require more practice to master progressively harder concepts or a method to make the process easier and less mentally taxing to both his mind in comprehending the concept and to his frustration in failing to occasionally apply the concept.

Magical Formula's aside from their advantages also acted as an assist for a Magus. It allowed the Magus to guide their magical energy in a specific manner to activate a spell. This way, a Magus would always be assured that the required spell would always be successful. Shirou's ability was unique but also had its drawbacks such as not having an organized system to activate his required effects. Shirou had to instead accomplish everything by instinct or create a Magical Formula himself to streamline the process.

Fortunately, this was something easier in nature. It would be far easier to hide a book as well as some notes as schoolwork when he was actually creating a Magical Formula compared to having to sneak away time to practice his magecraft every day. The only bottleneck in this situation was time. While he would have more time to work on a Magical Formula, he still had a limited time before it was too late for his father… It was up to him to make the optimal use of his time. He did not even want to consider what would happen if he failed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:   
> This chapter starts from a typical viewpoint from Shirou. It is a year after his deal with Rin and he is now at the age of eleven. Kiritsugu dies one year later in canon. His current state reflects that. Shirou notices him declining and is frustrated about his lack of progress across the year.  
> Through the months of learning both from Rin and the Tohsaka library, Shirou's skill and knowledge in magecraft improves by leaps and bounds. But it is with this improvement that Shirou knows how far away from the goal he actually is.  
> What Shirou is facing here is a Curse cast by the embodiment of all curses even if Shirou doesn't know. What he does know however is that the spell is cast by a Heroic spirit and to overwrite a spell cast by a Heroic Spirit is a tall task to have to undertake.  
> He dismisses simple healing as a solution against the Curse as even if the healing was effective, the Curse is still active. What could be of use however, is his Origin.  
> The rest of this portion is about more technical details about Shirou's Origin as well as what Shirou has learnt from his Origin through experimentation. One thing I tried to emphasize is how OP servants are and what a huge task Shirou is undertaking. It would be an impossible task were it not for his Origin.  
> It is remember to keep in mind here that while Shirou's potential when using his Origin is very high. He is nowhere near reaching the potential currently so any of the other possible solutions to heal Kiritsugu with his Origin it too much for his skill level at the moment and takes too long. What he is currently aiming for now is the best and shortest method.
> 
> Shirou dedicates a lot of mental effort towards this task and he gets very creative in exploring solutions as well as loopholes as well as alternative solutions.  
> Shirou personally knows what he is trying to do is an impossible task. He knows that to nullify the curse, he has to reach the boundaries of what was magecraft and what was magic. He doesn't care about the likelihood of him achieving his task and fully believes that he can do it. In his mind, there is no other option such is his devotion to Kiritsugu.  
> Its a thankless and impossible task and even when his magecraft improves by unprecedented levels while trying to accomplish this task, Shirou personally discards his progress and feels that it is not sufficient. He feels the limits of time coming upon him and he feels the sensation of getting more and more desperate.  
> Shirou eventually stops his musings and lamentations and goes to meet with Rin to go to school in the Shinto district. We see Rin like in canon isn't the best person to be around in the morning.  
> There is a basic description of their school as well as the first day of their school lives. Shirou meets up with his only other friend. Issei Ryuudou.  
> Shirou introduces Issei to Rin and it seems that Issei much like canon has a dislike of Rin. This is the first meeting however and so Issei doesn't much have a dislike yet and is open to friendship.  
> Rin adopts her perfect student facade due to it being 'fun'. She is still eleven and she had Shirou as a friend so her mischievous side comes out more instead of her more guarded demeanor like in canon from the years of being alone as a magus.  
> Rin and Shirou now have what could be described as a great bond. She teases Shirou but explains her motives for her facade as well as her goals for her school life. Shirou doesn't quite get what fun is but disregards that line of thought by rationalizing that his quest to help Kiritsugu is to be placed first at the current situation. Everything else is to be a secondary thought.  
> Healing Kiritsugu is currently his only purpose and main purpose in life. It's an obsession that has its roots in his emptiness. Shirou is as obsessed or even more obsessed with healing Kiritsugu as canon shirou is with being a Hero of Justice. It occupies almost every aspect of him at the moment. It affects great parts of his life. We see this again with another skip half a year later. He doesn't care much about clubs and school but wants to optimize the amount of time he can spare for his quest. We see Rin is successful in her goal but has a rival in Issei for the position of student council president. Shirou doesn't much care about that either.  
> Another half a year and Shirou has gotten even more desperate. He spends every single waking moment he has to spare on his quest to heal Kiritsugu. It had gotten to the point where he actively finds Taiga's visits annoying. Taiga is one of the few individuals he holds affections for so this is a huge statement.


	13. The Denouement of an Obsession, Part 2

"And the members of the student council for the second year of the Fuyuki Junior High has been decided. The teachers have discussed and when considering the opinions of the students, we have decided that the student council President and Vice President shall be Issei Ryuudou and Rin Tohsaka respectively."

Upon the announcement, he took a look beside him. It had disappeared in a flash, and anyone else would have not noticed it. He knew what to look for however and he had seen what he expected. Her expression had twitched and changed for a single moment into mix of annoyance and rage. She had indeed immediately resumed her act and had placed on an overjoyed and humble expression the instant anyone else had turned in her direction.

It seemed that while she had achieved what she set out to do in this school and had enjoyed having 'fun', not everything had gone exactly to plan. While this was her first setback thus far, he knew that internally she was disappointed and annoyed. He sighed. He would have to deal with her whining about her loss to Issei later.

"We would like to invite the new student council leaders to give a speech for the rest of the student body."

She had gotten up along with Issei whom he had spotted right in front of the hall. It was the first day of his second year at Fuyuki high school and part of the administrative routine was to announce the first iteration of the student council. Personally, Shirou had felt that Issei would be a better pick as the student council President.

While Rin had displayed all the right attributes and had the right attitude for the job, he understood his friend far better. She was acting in a performance. It was a performance that she had adopted a role, a façade for. Everyone else was but a viewer in her show and she had engineered the situation to provide her with the most amusement possible. While Shirou felt that she would have performed admirably, Issei was the individual who had a life goal of being the leader of an establishment.

While the establishment mentioned was his family owned temple, Issei did have a great sense of responsibility and had genuinely cared and devoted his efforts into all aspects of whatever leadership role he was taking. Whether it was his new one or the one he had based his life's aim around.

The different members of the student council were currently taking turns to deliver their speeches about their commitment to their duties and to the student body. Shirou recalled Rin's speech that she had set out to write. It had not been written recently. conveniently enough, it had been written several months ago at the end of the school term.

She had showed him the speech that she had wrote and had asked for his opinion on her speech. She had gone through several drafts of the speech with his input. The main concerns that had led to the drafts each time had been how humble Rin had wanted to be perceived as. She was naturally a very proud individual, proud of her own attributes and ability. It was an ingrained part of the personality that one could spot if she talked to you. That was not the perception she had wanted to convey in school however and so had to alter the speech several times to display the appropriate humility while also not seeming boring or artificial.

Humorously enough, she had first written the speech for the preparation of the role as student council President. As the responsibility and authority of the Vice President was vastly different, she had to change her speech spontaneously while she was delivering it. She had still performed well however, not stumbling over the words that she improvised.

Were it not for her intelligence compensating for the error she had made, she would have been so obviously caught for her complacency. It would have been a huge blow to the facade that she had so wanted to keep alive. Shirou would personally cook a meal for whomever would give him a chance to know what was going through her head at this moment.

As her speech had ended and the other members of the council were going up for their speeches, Rin had walked back to her seat at the side of him. She had brought a piece of paper, her written speech before coming up to the stage. Her hands were open as she walked signifying the disappearance of that paper. Shirou would not put it pass her to discreetly use a fire spell on the written paper when she was performing the speech in order to get rid of all evidence of her folly.

After Rin had sat down, Shirou had brought up his right arm to pat her several times on her shoulder. It was an act of concern and solidarity that he supposed he should give as her friend. She had only replied by narrowing her eyes and glaring at him before shaking his hand off her shoulder. He supposed that she had not took her loss to Issei as well as she presented to the other students.

* * *

"Congratulations Issei, I'm sure you really deserve it."

"Thank you Emiya… Oh, Tohsaka's coming over here. I think she's looking for you."

"Oh?" Shirou looked backwards to see a smiling Rin walking briskly towards their conversation. There was something wrong about the smile however.

"Ryuudou, I am afraid I have to take Shirou away from your conversation at the moment. By the way, congratulations for the position of President of the student council. You were the most obvious choice for the role."

Issei had narrowed his eyes for a moment as though thinking there was something wrong about Rin's statement before shrugging off his suspicion and replying.

"Oh, its fine if you wanted to discuss something with Shirou, we weren't discussing anything important anyway. Also, I'm sure it was a hard decision to decide the position of student council President. Don't sell yourself short Tohsaka, for all we know they could have decided who gets the position by alphabetical order."

Rin smiled and bowed once to Issei before dragging Shirou by his wrist away. Rin was silent all the way and had been walking quickly a brisk pace but the force she was increasing on Shirou's arm was an indicator as to her mood at the moment. They had eventually arrived to the roof of the school building which Rin had the keys for as part of the student council.

Rin was silent as she fumbled over the keys. She had kept a tight grip on his arm. Shirou wasn't sure if he had done something wrong but she seemed really displeased with him. She eventually managed to open the door to enter the open space of the roof. Opening the door, Rin kept her grip on his arm and with a slight application of reinforcement shoved him through the door. She then walked up to him and kicked his shin out of nowhere.

"Ow! What is wrong? What have I done again?"

"What were you doing with Issei?"

"I was just congra…"

"Ow!" She had kicked his shin again. Harder this time.

"Why do you have absolutely no tact!?" She shouted at him. It was now that Shirou had recognized her emotions. She wasn't just angry at him, she was also frustrated.

"Was there something wrong with what I did?" This time Shirou had adopted a bewildered and indignant expression instead of his confused expression.

This time his sentence had been allowed to finish. There were repercussions to her grace in allowing him to finish his sentence however. She walked up to him once again before repeatedly kicking his shins several times before she stopped when he had raised up both his arms in defense. She threatened to kick him another time before she took a few steps backwards and pulled both the twin tails of her hair in frustration.

"Shirou…" She said as she sighed. "You can't just do that to a girl you know?"

"Do what?" Shirou was getting more and more confused by her behavior even with her supposed clarification of what he had just done wrong. While she wasn't looking at him with a negative expression, she was instead looking at him as if he were hopeless. He wasn't sure if this was worse.

She sighed again and looked at him with the same expression before continuing but with a slightly forlorn tone.

"While this was just meant to be a bit of fun, I really worked hard for it you know? I think only now do I realize that a part of me had genuinely really really wanted it."

"Oh, you mean about the student council position…" This time Shirou adopted a look of comprehension before continuing with his doubts "But what does that have to do with you kicking me?"

"…"

"…"

This time Rin looked at him with an astonished expression as if he were the biggest idiot in the world. Shirou had felt that he might very well be with him still not comprehending the reasons as to her frustration and anger with him.

This time Rin shook looked down slightly and shook her head before marching out of the open space of the rooftop and into the exit. She closed the door as she left, still leaving a Shirou extremely confused about the situation.

As Rin closed the door to the roof and got to take the staircase down, she was still feeling extremely annoyed about the situation of her hopeless friend. It was then that she developed a smirk and thought up of a little trick to do that would cheer her up. She climbed up from the few steps she had traversed while thinking and stuck the key into the door and locked the door. She developed a slightly hysterical giggle atypical of the public perception of her as she skipped her way through the school.

* * *

When Rin had first heard the announcement that she had not been picked as the student council president, she had felt shock and annoyance. These were emotions that she had expected to feel. What she had not expected to feel were the subsequent waves of sadness.

When she had first done her research and had set out to become the ideal student and the student council president, it had been just part of a little bit of fun and amusement for her. It had felt fun the first few months of adopting her facade and doing the different little things that would get her chosen for the role.

While she had indeed adopted a facade in school, she had still made some friends nonetheless. While they weren't Magi and thus would never know her true self, she had enjoyed their company and spending time with them. They were the only other individuals she would ever get to interact with on a regular basis other than Shirou.

She had first developed a specific plan of the different kindhearted and helpful things that she would do to gain rapport with the students and increase her chances of attaining the position she had wanted. As she had done to carry out her plan however, it had slowly deviated from what it was at its inception. Rin had started to favor some activities more than the others. She had still accomplished everything she had set out to do of course, but it was still a large deviation from her plan.

Rin had begun to favor activities that had to do with helping her schoolmates as well as her teachers. It was not a phenomenon that she had expected to happen. She didn't think she was a nice person at the core but all the same she had not looked forward to all the activities she had planned in order to win rapport and it was normal to have some preferences to what she wanted to do anyway.

She had not considered that she had genuinely enjoyed helping other individuals. She had slowly begun to accept the possibility after undeniable evidence from her own observations but she had discarded her preferences as a weird quirk of hers. She was a Magus after all, one had to harden their heart when doing things as a Magus. Besides, the people she was helping didn't matter anyway. They were irrelevant to her other goals in life.

It was only now that she had just realized that beyond the amusement she had gained, a degree of her had genuinely enjoyed the routine and different tasks she had to go through in order to become the student council president.

When considering everything she had in her life, such a setback was a pathetic thing to get hung up over. It was nothing compared to the wider universe she had known compared to the other students but she just couldn't stop the disappointment from coming. It appeared that she had really enjoyed what she had done and was genuinely looking forward to attaining the responsibilities required of such a position.

After the flood of the emotions that had gone through her was processed, she had already finished her duties as the Vice President of the student council. She had gone through the day automatically while having her mind stuck on her emotional turmoil. By the time she had finished her duties, it was a quarter way through the period of time that was recess before they gathered into their after school clubs.

She had decided to find her friend Shirou. He was the only one she would feel comfortable venting to. It was expected that he wouldn't understand her feelings but he would accept her as she was with all her petty flaws. While she had other friends of a sort in this school, they weren't like Shirou who knew so much more about her and her character. Much has changed in her relationship with Shirou ever since she had been first threatened by him into a deal.

Ever since she had started to give him lessons in magecraft, he had come over to her house almost daily. Whether it be for his research for his goal of helping his father or learning more magecraft from her, he would be there when she looked for him. As months and months passed, they had developed a friendship of a sort and they had begun to trust each other more and more. There was still a gulf between them, stopping them from fulling putting their trust in each other but that gulf had been dissolved once she came to know of his true motives of asking her for the agreement in the first place.

For the past two years. Their bond had grown even more and she would consider him a dear friend of hers. Their friendship wasn't perfect as she had her quirks and Shirou was horrifically dense sometimes. Even so, he was a friend that could be always relied on when she needed help or to vent. This was why she had felt betrayed upon seeing Shirou talking with Ryuudou as though they were laughing about her flaws.

She was fine with Issei Ryuudou of course, he was a serious individual whom she didn't have an opinion of one way or another. He was also Shirou's friend but in turn he was also her main rival for the student President position. Ryuudou had not seemed to care about the rivalry for the position that Rin had thought it to be and thus she had not mentioned or acknowledged it with him either.

While Ryuudou had seemed to not have a motive of trying to gain a leadership position like she did, and was genuinely just doing what he felt right, he had to have known he was one of the nominees for the position. Rin had now known him well and was never quite too sure if it was a supreme confidence that he would be victorious or a genuine unknowingness of the rivalry.

While a large part of Rin had always known that Shirou's act of congratulating Ryuuodou was not out of malice but rather of his innocence and inexperience in such situations, she couldn't help but think it was slightly discourteous for him to not consider her thoughts in the matter.

While she was extremely disappointed about not getting the position of student president, she was more annoyed by Shirou's behavior. She had planned to vent to him about her problems and lo and behold, he was chatting amicably with her rival.

She had planned to drag him to the rooftop and start a proper rant about the expected behavior of a friend in such situations when she was astonished about the extent that Shirou had not been aware of his failings. She had decided in that moment that she would be unable to deal with him and educate him about the proper behavior that he should adopt in her current state.

When walking down the staircase, she decided that even if she had failed to attain the top position of the student council, she would at least enjoy the fruits of what she had attained. Was it an abuse of authority? Yes. Was it a spiteful thing to do? Yes. Would she regret doing it? No. She had accepted that she was a spiteful girl after all. Besides, Shirou was a Magus. He would be able to get out of what she had left him without destroying the lock.

* * *

She had left just like that. She had left after an assault for unknown reasons. It didn't hurt him of course; she hadn't used reinforcement but it was the principal of the manner. While he may have his faults. What could he have done that warranted such an action?

To understand the enigma that was his friend, he revisited what had happened today. After assembly, she had split off from him in order to travel to the student council club room for the delegation of duties for the student council. The next time he had seen her was in class where she was preoccupied in thought while he was busy working on the mathematical equations needed for his magical formula.

After the classes of the day had gone by, she had been dismissed from the last period of class early for her duties as part of the student council. As such during recess, he had not seen her in the canteen. He had instead seen Issei whom he had decided to congratulate for his achievement. This was also what had gotten him into this problem.

She had indicated that one of her issues was with losing the position of student council president to Issei and that her problem was with him congratulating Issei. While he could see that she was problem impacted more than she expected when she had gotten the secondary position, she was aware that Issei was also his friend.

Perhaps she felt wronged that he was going to Issei first before addressing her problems? He hadn't been able to find her when he looked for her at recess but perhaps it might just have been slightly more tactful to deal with her issue first before going to Issei. Shirou felt like that was the root of the problem though he still didn't feel like he had understood the issue. Nevertheless, he made a mental note to do the right thing in the future.

It was almost time till the recess was over. Shirou had eaten before talking to Issei and so he decided to travel to his club. He had joined the literature club. There was a simple reason as to his choice of clubs. The activities in the club.

The literature club was a club for appreciating literature as its name suggested. Each member would read a book every day and write a review for it. While the members usually discussed about the contents of the books that the others were reading, the bare minimum required for him to be allowed to be dismissed was to complete the review of the book. That took the least time for a club. He could hand in his review of the book and expect to be allowed to go. He wasn't even sure he knew the names of his other club mates.

As Shirou turned on the doorknob that led out of the rooftop level, he felt a resistance and a clicking noise. He turned on the doorknob once again and felt the same resistance and noise. Turning it in the other direction achieved the same result. It was then that Shirou had realized what must have happened. Rin must have locked him in as a result of her annoyance with him. Shirou sighed and activated his magical circuits before placing his hand on the doorknob and manipulating the lock to open for him.

After the little fiasco with the lock that he was sure his friend found extremely funny, he arrived at his club room. It was an unused classroom tucked at the side of the school library. It was connected to the library by a door with a password that the members were aware of. As he walked in, he noticed that it was half full. Most of the members had arrived early.

The state of the club was not of concern to him. All he had to do was walk up to the box at the end of the room where they would place their book reviews in. As he slipped his report in the slot, a club member attempted to strike up a conversation with him.

"Emiya, you don't plan on staying today as well? are you sure? Another order of books by the library has just arrived. I'm sure that there would be some that you would enjoy. Even if there's nothing that you like, wouldn't it be nice to hang out?"

Shirou was already on his way out of the room. He had not given the suggestion an ounce of thought. His only reply was with a grunt. Any more he spoke would just be giving them encouragement to retain him.

* * *

" _Have you had any success?" A female student asked of the student that had attempted to persuade Shirou to stay._

" _Nope. Emiya sure is cold." The student replied._

" _He is like this with everyone." The aforementioned female student sighed._

" _Not everyone!" Another student piped up._

" _Right. Everyone except Ryuudou and Tohsaka. The only individuals he makes contact with are those two."_

" _I wonder, how is he such great friends with Tohsaka? They're even closer than he is to Ryuudou. I heard they walk to school together." A fourth student commented._

" _This is true. I saw them once when walking to school myself. Do you guys think that they are together?"_

" _No way. Why would a kind and helpful girl like Tohsaka be interested in him?"_

" _How would I know? People have weird tastes after all."_

" _Er Hrm… Now would you like to stop speculating on the relationship of other students and may we continue todays discussion of the literature that we enjoy?" The student who was the club president chimed in and ended the conversation._

* * *

A week had started since the first day of the second year of the school. Shirou had been nearing the completion of his Magical Formula for his spell. He just needed to solve several dozen more equations as well as several experiments to ensure that his spell worked before he could start on a new phase on his quest.

He had decided to make a trip to the Tohsaka Mansion earlier in the morning before traveling to school. There were some reference materials that he needed to correlate with the progress of his Magical Formula.

As he rang the bell, he was surprised to be greeted by Rin opening the door. He had not expected her to be up this early and had pressed the bell as a courtesy after the incident of him breaking into her home early in their relationship.

She had looked normal in the morning for once, her hair was done up into her signature hairstyle, she had her uniform on, even her visage was one adopted by only the living. She must have been up for a while to look so awake when answering the door so early in the morning. Shirou had assumed that she wouldn't have even woken up yet.

"Shirou? What are you doing here?"

"Why are you up so early?" Shirou ignored her question as he brushed past her on the way up to the staircase. There was only one reason he would be here. While he was still her friend, and he would acknowledge that he could be horrifically dense in such matters, Shirou had still understood propriety to an extent.

As Shirou pushed open the door to the study and got to retrieve the book on Magical Formula the he was looking for, as well as a magical encyclopaedia of sorts, he found that she had followed him into the room and was looking at him sympathetically.

"You have been looking on ways to create Magical Formulae recently haven't you? Have you found a way?"

"Not quite. I am well on my path though, if this spell I'm planning to use works. I will tell you about the details when I succeed. I just need a few more references before it will be complete."

"Are you done at the moment?"

"Yes, the calculations can be handled later. Why is there something you want to do?" He looked at her quizzically. He was wondering if whatever she wished to do was related to her being up so early.

"Nothing much. I'm feeling rather energetic this morning. Let us go for a walk around the neighborhood."

Shirou just nodded and they walked out of the house together. It appeared that she had already had breakfast. That was a surprise. He was expecting her to use his culinary talents once he showed up at the door. He had been planning for it even.

She was walking slowly around the neighborhood. She was also whipping her head around and squinting her eyes. It seemed that she was looking for something or someone. They soon came a stop as she stopped at an alley overlooking a residence. Shirou was puzzled. While he not been here before, always taking the direct and fastest road to the Tohsaka Mansion, he knew who had lived in this residence they were looking upon.

The residence was a Mansion largely similar to the Tohsaka one. The total area looked about the same, they had the same number of floors and they even had similar painting schemes. Aside from the fact that the Mansion was in the same part of the district that contained all of the western Mansions, the other similarity it had to the Tohsaka Mansion was that this residence was also a residence of a Magus family.

"Isn't this the Matou Residence?"

"Oh, you know this too?" She looked at him inquisitively.

"Of course, I know. I had to consider all the Magus families that lived in Fuyuki before I came to you for help. Although, I saw that there were also notes that indicated that Kiritsugu had also broke into here during the last Holy Grail War."

"What are we doing here anyway? Was there someone you were looking for?"

"Of… Of course not! It is just my responsibility of a Tohsaka to be aware of the activities of the other Magi within Fuyuki." She affirmed slightly too quickly before continuing.

"There are two members of the Matou currently in Fuyuki. One is definitely not a Magus while the other should be going to school today. I am just looking for any suspicious activity from them."

"One is not a Magus? Have you been in contact with a Matou before?"

She sighed and turned to him. "You may not have noticed in your lack of concern about school, but we do have a Matou in our year you know?"

"Do we? I don't recall feeling any traces of magical energy in the school aside from ours." Shirou was concerned now. Were his senses lacking somehow?

"Exactly. While he's not in our class, I have passed by him in the hallways several times. He has absolutely no magical circuits to speak of. If he does, it is probably of a pathetic quality that can't activate magecraft anyway."

"Oh, by the way. If you were wondering, he has blue hair. He should be pretty recognizable. If I recall correctly, I think his name is Shinji?" She scrunched up her nose as if she were trying to recall a half-forgotten detail.

Just as Shirou was about to ask another question, Rin put her hands to cover his mouth while shoving both of them deeper into the alleyway before peeking out at the Matou Mansion. Shirou taking her cue, peaked out at the Mansion too.

Coming out of the mansion was a girl of several inches shorter than Rin. She had violet hair with a red-pink ribbon on the left side. She possessed gentle features and had a blank expression. She was alone while coming out of the Mansion. It appeared that the other Matou, whatever his relation to her, was not accompanying her to school.

Shirou focused his senses around and found that he could not detect a trace of magical energy in her at all. Perhaps now that both members of the Matou's were not Magi, were they considered a defunct Magus family? As far as Shirou knew, the only other member of the Matou was an old man that was presumably their grandfather. By the previous Holy Grail War, he was already too old to fight and had been dismissed as a combatant. Shirou didn't even know if he was still alive.

As the Matou girl walked on the way to the Fuyuki bridge, they were still at the alleyway. Rin was still looking at her. Shirou did not know why. Rin was looking for threats, here right? If the girl did not possess Magical energy, she was not a Magus and thus would not be a threat to them. If so, why were they still here?

Just as Shirou was about to drag her on the way to school, he heard sniffling. As he turned to look at the source, she turned around in the other direction. He saw her hands raised up to rub the tears off her face. As she turned back to face him once again, her features were trying to resume her normal expression of normalcy but her eyes were still tinged red. This was alarming.

"Rin… Are you okay?"

"What? Of course, I am Shirou, I am perfectly fine. More than fine even. It might be a bit early but I think it would be an amazing opportunity to enjoy the sight of the city as we travel our ways to school."

"Oh… Okay. What is up with us visiting the Mat…" Shirou stopped his question as he saw Rin merrily skipping away from him, completely ignoring his questioning. She was trying to portray a cheerful version of herself. He could see the tremors on her legs as she skipped every step though. Whatever had led her to shed tears was something she did not wish him to be aware of.

He would respect her wishes even if she had believed that she fooled him. But even with how busy his life was, he believed it would be wise to dedicate some time away from her at school to investigate what was up with the Matou girl that had caused such a reaction.

As Shirou walked quickly to catch up to her skipping, Shirou felt that whatever it was, it was his obligation to help look out for Rin and the problems she faced. He was her friend after all.

She was silent the rest of the way to school. Shirou had brought out the book that he had just loaned to read. If she was going to be silent about her problems, he might as well get working on what he needed to do.

Even on his preoccupation with his research, as they walked their way to school, he had noticed that they were always following the same path as the Matou girl. While they were always walking two streets back, there was no denying it. She was absolutely looking at and keeping an eye on the Matou girl.

* * *

As the next few weeks passed, he had made an investigation as to what had caused Rin's behaviour on that morning. He had firstly observed the other Matou in the school. The one he had been unaware of. There was nothing perfectly noteworthy about him. He had followed him several times and it was a guarantee that he had possessed no magical energy so Shirou doubted he was related to Rin's issue.

Shirou had also observed the Matou girl as well. He had discovered that the other Matou was her brother. They didn't seem to have the best relationship. The elder brother of the other Matou was often rude to her. She was polite in return though, so that may have just been a facet and regular quirk of their sibling relationship. He did too have a slightly quirky friendship with Rin. Who was he to draw meaningless conclusions?

He had observed the Matou girl more as she was the catalyst for Rin's reaction. She was meek and eager to please from what he could see. She was helpful towards her classmates but was not particularly close to her classmates such that they could be called friends. She was a rather normal girl if not for one observation that Shirou had made.

Her eyes. They were empty. Blank. They were not empty in the way that Shirou's used to be and still was to a degree. They were empty in another way. Shirou had seen those eyes before. The eyes were like Kiritsugu's whenever he had returned on one of his overseas trips.

They were eyes of resignation. Of hopelessness. The message that such eyes sent was that the individual was under immense despair. Was this related to what had led Rin to have such a reaction?

Shirou had tried multiple times to prod an answer from Rin. He was never direct of course. He had always used the subtle approach of addressing the Matou as a family and asking about the implications of both members not being Magus. She had always avoided the question, changed the subject or given a meaningless answer unrelated to what he had wanted to find out.

Shirou had eventually reached a dead end in his investigation. While he promised himself he would return to it, he had a commitment to make. He was a few days away from the completion of his Magical Formula that would streamline the spell that was expressed with his Origin. He would solve this matter after he had undone the Curse that had plagued Kiritsugu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:  
> Another year passes and now they are in the second year of Junior High. Rin is chosen as Vice President of the student council instead of her desired position. She is indeed not pleased but there are several other emotions that she didn't expect to feel.  
> We see Shirou's thoughts on the matter as well as who he thinks should get the position. We also see what Rin has been up to in order to compete for the position. We see Rin get bitten by her overconfidence but manages to get through just peachy.  
> Next up, shirou congratulates Issei on his victory. Rin sees this and wishes to take Shirou away. At this moment, Issei and Rin are amicable since they don't yet have enough interactions to develop into his hatred of Rin yet. Currently it is a one sided rivalry between them but it will escalate.  
> Rin is pissed at Shirou congratulating Issei. Shirou does not know why she is pissed. He is a bit daft with regards to social incidents like this. In his defense though, his only two friends are Rin and Issei and he dosen't have any other social interaction.  
> Rin is so frustrated and feels she can't deal with Shirou's emotional ignorance at the moment. She does feel cheer up after playing a small prank on Shirou though so all is well.  
> Now we visit Rin's thoughts and about the situation and her thought about her goal to become Student President. The problem is that Rin is a nice person at heart but she doesn't really have a chance to know that herself since she's actually pretty mean to Shirou sometimes.  
> While being a Magus, she still is pretty social and does enjoy having friends. We observe her journey about what she does and how she discovers more about herself in the process.  
> After this, we see her thoughts on Issei which aren't very many. They haven't really interacted enough. This both being part of the student council is a catalyst for more interactions. This also happens in canon incidentally.  
> She is betrayed by Shirou congratulating her rival but she knows Shirou's character and it is actually a source of amusement for her normally but at his moment it is a source of anger. She would normally educate him as to what to do the next time but this incident actually hits her pretty hard.  
> Back to Shirou and we see him still being confused about what just happened. He goes through the days events and sort or arrives to the correct conclusion but is still baffled about regular human behavior.  
> The theme continues as we see Shirou going to his club and leaving quickly to go back home to work on his spells. The club members speculate about him but all that really says is that Shirou hasn't interacted with anyone else in school and so no one really knows much about him.  
> The chapter so far has really been to provide a slice into the lives of the character. It is needed to develop their characters in regular situations as well as to break up the long dumps of magecraft and plot. While it is part of the plot, the main use of this chapter is basically to provide a better and more digestable flow of the story and not just continuous and intense plot without breathing space. We are coming up on that anyway so this is even more essential since its going to be intense in a while.  
> Back to a bit of plot before we end this chapter. It had been a week since the second term of Junior High school. This means that new students are coming. One of the students is a younger sister of a certain Tohsaka. As this is the only Junior High in Fuyuki, she has to go to school here.  
> Rin knows this and this will be her first opportunity to observe her sister's condition since her adoption by the Matou's. Rin is often accused as a bad sister in canon even when she looks out for Sakura discreetly. She just doesn't have much of an opportunity to know more about Sakura's home conditions since sakura keeps it to herself.  
> This is partly to give Rin's character more depth but also partly because we can't just forget about Sakura even if she isn't going to be relevant at this point. Besides, forgetting about Sakura just makes Rin a bad sister.  
> Rin cries a bit when first seeing Sakura. This is partly due to this being her first glimpse of her sister in years but also partly due to this being her first time seeing her in purple hair (I think this is true in canon). And this really kicks in the thought that Sakura is no longer actually her sister since there are probably magical ways to make her actually biologically Matou through magecraft and the change in hair and eye color is an indication of that.  
> He does a mini investigation in his free time and discovers some things but nothing that indicates what happens. He does know something's up with Sakura due to her empty eyes though. Due to Rin being a well adjusted and regular human being, she can't recognize what that means.


	14. The Denouement of an Obsession, Part 3

It was done. The final equations had been calculated. He had referenced all available magical theory limitless times. All indications had confirmed his hypothesis that what he was trying to do and would be successful at was feasible. He had checked over the contents of the final steps several hundred times. The hundreds of books he had read since committing to this line of magecraft had been absorbed of all knowledge in order to complete this Formula. He had the tools now. Shirou Emiya would definitely succeed.

Magical Formulas were the established methods made through calculations of complex mathematics, science and astrology as well as magical theory that would create a system that would take over the responsibility from the Magus in casting the spell. They were a common part of magecraft but were also not often created.

To create a Magical Formula is to effectively create a new realm of magecraft. It was to act as a foundation for the spells that would be involved within that magecraft. Most commonly used Magical Formulae had been there for centuries, refined and perfected. To create a new Magical Formula would normally be a century long project. The spells supported by this new foundation would be too weak otherwise. Only the most ambitious of Magi even harbored the thought of creating a Magical Formula. None with the same intentions of Shirou.

While all Magi had their own version of personal magecraft different from the mainstream, they mostly adapted them using current Thaumaturgical foundations for use. Others stopped pursuing that line of magecraft and pursued something more practical, like elements. Others created Mystic Codes to manifest their Magecraft. It would be too absurd a thought for most Magi to even undergo the effort of specifically creating a new Magical Formula just to actualize their own personal magecraft. Shirou was not most Magi.

Through using a Magical Formula in casting a spell, the Magus need not dedicate any mental nor physical resources towards it. There were no caveats on concentration, calculation or anything required to carry out the spell. There were no physical sacrifices needed as in rituals. All that was needed was an adequate amount of magical energy.

A requirement to using a Magical Formula to cast a spell was to use an Aria. This was not an exception that Shirou had been able to avoid. His Magical Formula had required an Aria as well. This was not a problem for there was no real harms to having to chant the Aria in his goal. The Aria required for the incantation had only required one sentence and count anyway.

Arias or incantations were a type self-hypnosis cast on the Magus. The regular use of an Aria is to place a mind of a Magus in a state in which the control on the Magical Circuits is greater than ever before. Allowing for more magical energy to be produced in both input and output. A greater advantage was to be able to shape the Magical Energy produce by a Magus to unprecedented extents, allowing them to actualize the spells that were supported by the complex Thaumaturgical theory.

What an Aria did, was place the mind of a Magus in a more passive and controllable state, allowing for the Magus in that instant, to be able to use the complete resources of the human brain beyond the constraints of mortality in order to be able to actualize more complex effects by bringing out temporarily, a higher potential from the soul of the Magus to compensate for the mind being too weak to comprehend the basic aspects of the complex Magical Formulae.

Shirou's Magical Formula was no different. In order to make his spells stronger, he had to bring out a stronger and purer version of the concept he was using. It would normally require him to mentally comprehend all aspects and the implications of using the concept. This took up massive mental resources and would be impossible once Shirou used a concept with greater potential behind it.

As such, Shirou wasn't currently able to use higher level concepts. The creation of this Magical formula for his spell would solve this issue. This would allow him to be able to use higher concepts at a greater power level while using a low amount of Magical Energy. This would also ensure the success of the spell as long as he had enough Magical Energy.

Creating a Magical Formula for his spells also served an unintended effect to his spell. While spells were typically of fixed power unless more magical energy was provided, Shirou's ability was as a result of his Origin. The link of his soul to the Root. Through using of an Aria to draw out more potential from his Soul, in theory, the greater strength of his soul and thus greater connection to the Root at the time of casting would greatly enhance the power and limits of his spell.

This was the key reason why his Spell was able to be actualized using the Magical Formula with only a one count incantation. Spells had an inherent stability based on their Magical Formula and Thaumaturgical Foundation.

Powerful spells were less stable and required many counts and phrases in order to be able to stabilize the mystery and carry it out smoothly and successfully every time.

Less powerful spells or Spells with a more stabilized Thaumaturgical process and Magical Formula were very stable and thus could be actualized easily just with minimal phrases and a quick shaping of magical energy.

Shirou's spell would normally be extremely unstable due to his Magical Formula being a new and untested, optimized system. It would also be weaker due to its lack of inherent mystery behind it, with its only user using it to actualize his personal magecraft. Using this new Magical Formula would normally require an absurd length of time in order to chant the phrases in order to carry out the spell. However, due to his Spell requiring the drawing of concepts from the Root, by bringing out the greater potential of his soul for the moment of chanting the Aria, he was able to widen the connection of his soul to the Root and thus actualize the concept he was using more easily. This allowed the spell to be extremely simple and stable thus only requiring the basic minimum count in order to hypnotise himself to draw out the power from his Soul.

Now that he was about to try the spell with the Magical Formula for the first time, he felt that his mind had gone blank. He was unable to think of an Aria of enough significance to power a hypnosis powerful enough for what he wanted to do.

Arias or incantations were not normally chanted towards the outer World, for the environment to allow its effects. Rather, Arias are chanted towards one's inner World, the soul of the Magus. Due to this, in order to the Aria to be of sufficient power to hypnotise the individual's soul they must be full of meaning and importance to one's Soul. They must reflect the nature of the individual's spell or Soul in order for them to be effective.

This was what Shirou had been caught in. He had to choose an Aria of personal significance to him in order to actualize his soul. Shirou stood there thinking, pondering. He had already stood still for half an hour and yet he was still lost. He couldn't stand here forever. What use would the creation of a Magical Formula be if he couldn't use its effects due to his incompetence? As he got more and more desperate, like always, the instincts ingrained in his Soul provided him with an answer. His lips instinctively revealed its deepest facts from his Soul.

" _ **May the Truth foist its burden of significance upon me"**_

The Aria was not a command. Most Magus tended to prefer to activate their spells with a command as an Aria. Shirou was different. This was not an Aria. This was a desperate plea. It was a plea from his empty Soul. Lacking of significance even with a cause to pursue. It was fitting. A concept was a meaning. A reason of existence. It fit that the only way he would be able to activate his spell would be to borrow a meaning that filled his lacking Soul, giving his Soul true significance.

The entire shed that was the Magical Workshop in the Emiya Residence lit up. It was currently dead silent in the middle of the night but there was an intense white light that shined out from the few openings of the shed. Six white Magical Circles manifested from both his arms. Three at each side. They were of a pearly silvery color that had a pretentious brightness.

The Magical Circles were atypical in which they were not enclosed around his hands nor at the tips of them. They were instead around his hands, rotating, revolving and not in any way connected to his limbs. The Magical Circles were a pearly silvery white but were also translucent with square patterns within the circles orbiting around his hands.

The system was activated. Now if everything had gone well, he could impose whatever concept onto a foreign object and have it take effect without a smidgen of thought. Shirou looked around the shed. There were no objects of note. If he wanted to test his success, he would need to impose a sufficiently powerful concept to know the degree of his supposed new limits.

He wasn't quite sure what he would test his new system on. That was the problem with devoting every part of his life to a goal. He didn't quite know what to do with it once he had reached a part of it. Sure, he knew perfectly what he wanted to do. He wanted to immediately use a concept counter to the Curse and nullify his father's condition and have the spell be effective.

If only it was that straightforward. He could only revisit what he knew. He had new limits. They were unknown. Were they powerful? Supposedly so. Were they powerful enough to defeat something backed with the legend of a Heroic Spirit? He didn't know. He had to work his way there though.

An idea drifted through his mind expecting to be dismissed. He had almost done so as well. He had kept the idea though. It might be absolutely stupid and foolish for him to carry out, but if his spell worked, there would be no issues. All it came down to was the degree of trust he had in himself.

Did he trust his own Magical Formula to work? An untested Formula made by a Magus with no official Magical education? Even if he failed, did the effects of the idea even matter if he had already failed in his goal?

Trusting in himself, he projected a nameless steel sword from his journey to the museum several years back. The sword was not anything special but it would do what he required. With no further hesitation, Shirou Emiya ran himself through with the sword. As Shirou was thrusting the sword into himself, he activated the spell that was now supported by this new system.

What he felt was his Soul or mind leaving the current reality into a hazy and misty dark place of nothingness. The environment was empty but it was somehow also full of meaning at the same time. What this new environment projected was the feeling that there were infinite possibilities now available to him. By instinct, he drew a portion of the mist towards himself. It was a mental representation that his mind had provided him with in order to be able to activate what he wanted.

In that hazy misty place that his mind had took him, the Mist was the representation of the limitless concepts that existed within reality. He took the concept he required in the world and dragged it away from the main body of the Mist. He was drawn out of that place and in his disorientation, Shirou found that he was still where he left off in the midst of what could be considered a suicidal move.

The sword was a plain double-edged straight sword able to thrust and slash with equal effectiveness. It was of average sharpness for a typical sword and it had pierced through him as he expected. The sword came out from the back of his back. There was minimal resistance as it speared through him. That did not matter.

The sword currently stuck through Shirou did not matter. What mattered was that he was successful. The sword was within him and if there were ten more of the same swords that pierced him, he would look like a pincushion. He would still be fine then.

There was no blood. The sword had gone through the center of his body under his rib cage. It had gone through his liver. Where was the copious amount of blood that was supposed to be flowing out of him like a fountain? Where was the pain that Shirou was supposed to be feeling? Where was the weakness that would strike him at any moment as the consequences from the wound?

What had happened before Shirou had considered stabbing himself was that he had recalled his research on mythological feats and thought up of an experiment sufficiently demanding enough to prove what he wanted.

Some Heroes across history were said to have been invulnerable to weapons. Invulnerability. That was a powerful concept. Invulnerability itself would be impossible to utilize as a concept before. It was simply too hard to comprehend. Agelessness and being impervious to harm was the maximum what most people assumed and comprehended. There was more to this concept than most individuals thought.

There was still the mind of the Individual. While that might be invulnerable from the outside, what about mental issues? Would they still take effect? What about the Soul? Would that be invulnerable too? Invulnerability was not a simple concept to comprehend. It did not even matter the inherent power of such a concept. It would be impossible to actualize if one did not comprehend the implications. Not all concepts were equal.

This was why invulnerability was nigh impossible to achieve with magecraft. Resistance from harm and extension of life was possible. No one ever got as far as invulnerability. Even the most ancient and powerful Thaumaturgical Theory did not currently provide the possibility to actualize invulnerability to any degree.

What Shirou did was to cast the concept of 'invulnerability against bladed weapons' onto himself. What his new system did was to utilize his own comprehension of the concept. If he were to attempt to utilize this concept without his system, it would be impossible from the mental strain alone. He would have to comprehend all possible interpretations of both the concept of invulnerability itself and all possible interpretations of bladed weapons. Even with the strain, the spell would not succeed before and he would now be bleeding and dying on the floor of the shed.

Such a difficulty from trying to impose a concept was unneeded. He only needed to achieve specific and general effects from the concepts. He need not need to know all the conceivable possibilities. He only needed the spell to utilize the inherent essence and spirit of his motives that was his personal perception of the concept.

His spell was successful. He pulled the sword out. His sword exited his body cleanly as the area took away by the sword rearranged themselves to their original places and configuration. Upon the complete exit of the sword, he observed that there was no difference to his body at all. There were no scars nor scratches. He was invulnerable to the sword. For all purposes, he was just another sheath for the sword.

The energy that the spell took was significant but not extreme nor was it crippling. That was expected. He had not provided Magical Energy beyond the minimum required for the concept to manifest. A sword that contained even basic reinforcement would be able to draw blood and penetrate his organs.

This was due to the inherent basic mystery of Magic within the Magical Energy inside a reinforced sword. It countered his concept which was also based on Mystery. He could scale its effectiveness up however. With his current level of Magical Energy, if he used his maximum output, the spell would scale to extreme levels of high Thaumaturgy and anything short of a true Noble Phantasm would not be able to hurt him.

This was what he wanted to achieve. Would he be able to defeat a Curse currently? No. Even with his complete output, he still couldn't overcome a curse with the mystery of a Heroic Spirit behind it. Especially a Curse that was likely some sort of Noble Phantasm. This was no big deal. He was past his greatest hurdle currently. With more practice he would be able to reach the level he needed within the year.

If he repeatedly practiced the spell to grant him the 'invulnerability against bladed weapons' currently, through the continuous practice and activation of the concept, he would naturally gain a better perception and comprehension of the concept. This would allow him to impose greater parts of the complete concept in its entirety every instance he used the concept and with its greater purity be able to achieve the same effect with less and less Magical Energy provided every time. In reverse, if he continued to provide the same amount of Magical Energy, the spell and concept would be more and more powerful each time he used it.

What mattered was practice. He was over his greatest hurdle now. His goal was within sight. There were no other factors limiting him. He had finished his Magical Formula. He had overcome the problems so far. Now the only limit was time. He had enough time. He was optimistic. What could go wrong now?

* * *

He did not have enough time. Shirou was currently in school. It was a currently a few months after the start of the year. As this was their second year as students, the teachers had decided that they should challenge them with a different assignment instead of just regular exams. What the teachers had decided was to give them a major project to accomplish that would settle their grades for the year.

It was a combined project that involved aspects of all the subjects they took. It was a massive project that was not to be done in school. It was supposed to be done in pairs outside of curriculum time. Predictably, he had partnered up with Rin for this project.

This project had not come at the best time. He was currently making good progress through his goal. While this wouldn't be a major setback that would hinder his goal such that he failed it, Shirou would prefer there not to be any setbacks at all. Rin was excited about this project. If it didn't hinder him, he would say he had some interest in it as well. It was also an interesting project by itself, ignoring the harm to Shirou's progress to his objective.

As he looked to the side to who was now also his project partner, he recalled a promise he had made years ago. A promise that had almost slipped his mind. Since this was a project they had to do after school, this was also an opportunity to finally make good on his promise.

"Rin, you should come over to my home."

"What? What! Shirou! You can't just phrase things like that." Her face reddened as she looked around quickly to spot if anyone had heard the improper words that had came out from the mouth of her project partner.

"What? I just wanted to introduce you to my parent." he replied confusingly, clarifying his intention to invite her over to the Emiya Residence for the first time.

"Shirou, shouldn't you invite a girl for a date or something before reaching that stage? It is a bit fast isn't it?" Rin now assured that no one was listening in or paying attention to them, had decided to change her tactics to tease Shirou.

"What? Oh. No! No! No! You know what I mean!" He had finally realized what was wrong about the way he had phrased his invite. Trust her to reverse the situation to her amusement with his ineptness in such situations.

"Of course, I know what you mean. I am not sure the rest of the school will though if anyone had heard your question." Rin looked at him more strictly this time. It was a warning to be more aware next time before he blurted out something that could be interpreted in the wrong way.

"It's just that I have been over so often so it would only be appropriate to do this project at a different place this time." He sighed as he tried to phrase his thoughts in an appropriate manner. They were friends now. Friends went over to each other's places.

"If it is fine at your side, we should start as early as possible, after school would be the best." She inquired, not sure about how comfortable her friend was with the situation being in reverse. She herself had just gotten too used to him being at her home.

They would leave school early. Shirou had handed in his book review and had 'completed' his club activities for the day while as long as Rin had finished her responsibility as part of the student council, she would be free to leave. She normally stayed in school longer for other aspects of her role but she knew her friend had wanted to make optimal use of their time.

They made their usual way out of the school. The route to the Fuyuki Bridge was the same from the school. As opposed to the perils of traveling to school in the morning, the streets were quiet and there were less cars on the road. Everyone was currently at work. It would be a few hours yet before the earliest of office workers would leave work and populate the roads.

While the Miyama District was more of a housing district, there were still some office buildings after the bridge crossing from the Shinto side of the city. With the offices there were also other high-rise residential districts.

They were currently walking on the same main road that led to Fuyuki bridge through the Miyama District. Normally, they would get to the Tohsaka Mansion by turning left into a smaller street just as they passed the high-rise portion of the city and the structures gradually became shorter. It was a different story to lead to the Emiya Residence. Shirou had found that it was faster to pass through the Shopping district of Miyama before turning right into a smaller but long stretch of the street that led to the intersection that connected the Emiya Residence to the rest of the city.

As they walked through the street, Rin observed the surroundings gradually changing in architecture to suit a more traditional Japanese style of building instead of the European style of her side of the district or the modern high-rises that populated the center of Fuyuki. Walking further along the street provided the same pattern but the styling of the houses had gotten older and older. Just as they were about to reach the intersection, Rin noticed that most of the modern indications of the current age on the styling of the houses had completely disappeared. If it wasn't for the modern roads they were walking on or the clothing they were wearing, Rin would have thought she was in the nineteenth century.

As they crossed the intersection, they turned right. Shirou could already see his home in the distance. It was still some way however. The two sides of the street were different. On his right, there would be walls surrounding older Japanese residences much like the ones he lived in. On his left, there was a grove of trees too small to be even called a forest or wood. They were natural. A part of the city that has never been touched for centuries since their development. There were no paths inside for any type of park or navigation. They were just a natural part of the environment, untouched in the city planning thus far.

The Emiya Residence was surrounded by a thick wall made with stone, wood and bricks. The wall was of a decent height, half a dozen meters tall. They were topped off with brick tiles. There were trees that surrounded the actual property within the walls. The tips of the trees were peaking over the walls.

The wooden door that granted access outside the walls was unlocked. Shirou pushed the door open, walking through while Rin followed his lead. The door had made a creaky loud noise as it opened. As Rin stepped in, she was greeted with a large open space with a concrete path that led to the main building.

The property was vast. Even just the main building alone had dwarfed the entire Tohsaka Mansion and Matou Mansion combined in land area. It was a traditional Japanese property that could not be truly called a mansion but fulfilled its definition by its vastness. The property had only a single level with all its rooms spread out across the large property.

The front door of the main building was made of wood and paper. Shirou opened it by sliding it to the left. The entrance of the Emiya Residence was a narrow hallway made out of wood and plain white wall paper. There were two doors to the left that were used as storage and four different cabinets to the right that served as more storage.

The only direction beyond the hallway was towards the right. Before they walked down the hallway, they removed their shoes and place it in a wooden cabinet towards the right of the front door. They turned right and Shirou knocked on a wooden sliding door before sliding it open and gesturing for both of them to enter.

The room that they entered was the living room of the Emiya Residence that also doubled as a dining room. There was a Kitchen at the back of the room. It was smaller than the kitchen in the Tohsaka Mansion but it was still of average size. There was a single cabinet at the side of the room. In the centre of the room was a short legged wooden table. Sitting by the table was a figure in white robes reading from a scroll. There was a cup of tea on the table in front of him.

The figure was skinny and looked a bit haggard, He had black spiky hair that was left unstyled. He had a small stubble of black hair on his chin. His eyes were a vacant empty black and his face was blank with stress lines.

He put down the scroll he was reading and his body seemed to change entirely in demeanor once he heard the door opening. He looked more alert and less stressed. He raised his head to look at Shirou with a kindly and affectionate expression at odds to his previously blank one before his eyebrows seemed to raise slightly upon spotting Rin.

"Oh, Shirou you are back. Who is this young lady with you?"

"Kiritsugu, Rin is a friend and classmate from school. As we have to do a major project for the year results, I suggested she come over."

"Mr Emiya, it is a pleasure to meet you. You may just call me Rin."

"It is a pleasure to meet you too Rin, you may make yourself at home."

"Kiritsugu, we will be in the dojo to do our project. Is it fine if she leaves after having dinner later?"

Kiritsugu nodded. With the permission granted by his father, the pair exited the room on the way to the dojo. The Dojo was down the hallway after several rooms where the hallway was no longer surrounded by wooden walls but rather with clear glass panels. Walking alongside the panels, they came to a spot overlooking the yard.

Shirou brought her to a door that led to the yard. As they crossed the yard to get to the dojo, a large building at the back of the Emiya Residence, Rin felt a faint trace of magical energy in the direction of what looked like a rickety old shed made with concrete walls. What Rin felt was not energy from the bounded field which was a foreign magical energy, presumably the work of the elder Emiya. It was an energy more familiar to Rin. It was Shirou's magical energy.

Rin thought that the shed must have been the place which her friend had used as a Magical Workshop. It was the only area that was suitable for one. The rest of the house was too open which allowed the natural magical energy in the world to flow too freely and uncontrollably. Only the Shed which was a made with a more rigid type of construction would be fit for such a use.

They entered the dojo. It was a large building with ample space for any type of physical activity. It was a plain room with wooden panelling throughout the vast length of the room. There were several kendo sticks at the side of the room. As both of them got into the room and left their bags at the side, Shirou activated his magical circuits and created a bounded field on the entrance of the room.

Rin could easily recognize what type of bounded field it was just by its energy signature alone. It was a warning type bounded field which would warn Shirou when the door was about to open. It was suitable for their conversation they were about to have. While it was unlikely they would be barged in on, it was best to be cautious. As Shirou finished setting up the bounded field, they looked at each other. They were both silent. Rin decided that she would start first.

"He couldn't sense that I am a Magus."

Shirou nodded. It was why he felt fine with inviting Rin over. His father would have known something was up if he knew Rin was a Magus. That was why he had not provided Rin's family name in her introduction. Without his Magical senses, there was no way he would know Rin was a Magus if he had not provided her name. It was not overly suspicious to not give her families name. The only thing it indicated was that Shirou and Rin had a closer relationship which was true.

"He has an extremely faint trace of magical energy; it was of the same type that made up the bounded field of the house. His magical circuits must have not been in use for a long time for me only being able to sense him from several meters away."

Shirou nodded again. "He hasn't done magecraft for a while now. I think his magical circuits have been too dilapidated to work. A couple more years and I think that his magical signature would fade away entirely."

"He had quit his job several months back. He said that he felt that it was time to retire but I don't think he was in any state for a job anymore. He is still just currently in his thirties." As he said this, she saw that Shirou was looking down and was clenching his fists. While she had believed him and placed her faith in him for two years now, this had proven his motivations. It was her responsibility as a friend to spare him from this subject. Before it had a resolution, it would continue to hit him hard.

"I suppose you have already kept your promise and proven your words... Lets not dwell on this matter any longer... Let's start our project, shall we? I don't suppose anyone else would be able to do better than us."

Rin had said this to give both of them a way out of the conversation. Shirou had already proven himself, not that she needed him to after knowing him for a while now but it was also better to get out of this conversation and gloomy atmosphere. She was sure that Shirou would take her cue as he would prefer to finish the project as fast as possible anyway.

It took several hours to work on their project. They had stopped working on it when it was about time for dinner. They would still have to work on the school project for at least a week yet before they would be able to complete it. They both led themselves to the living room where Shirou walked towards the back area of the room to prepare dinner. Rin had tried to volunteer but Kiritsugu had refused and forbidden Shirou from allowing her to help by stating that it was discourteous for her to help cook on only her first visit.

While Kiritsugu was not a talkative individual, he had still made idle conversation with Rin. The conversation was surprisingly normal. He asked her about their school and their experiences. He had also questioned her about her friendship with Shirou in which she invented an alternate possibility as to how they met in school. It was surprisingly domestic for three individuals who currently was or had been active Magi. Shirou had even chimed in the conversations once in a while.

Kiritsugu was relieved. Contrary to what he knew of his son's social skills, his son had managed to make a friend in normal circumstances. It was the one positive of the situation in his life. He was glad for his son. As much as Kiritsugu would tell himself he didn't mind it, he would acknowledge that loneliness was a terrible sensation to wish on any human being, Magus or not.

His son had a support system now. Taiga would always spare her time for Shirou if he had needed it, Shirou was currently in school and in regular contact with his similar aged peers and Kiritsugu now had definite proof that his son had managed to make friends. From what he had observed from their interactions, they were rather close friends even. Such would be individuals whom Shirou would be able to rely on. While Kiritsugu had made some arrangements, it was better and more organic this way.

His life had gone terribly thus far. Every action and cause in his life had somehow gone wrong. Not everything about his existence was pointless however. The boy he had saved and adopted as his son after the fire was proof of that. He was proof that whatever had gone wrong with his life, all the sins he had accrued, there was a single individual that he had saved and that was enough. That was all the hope was needed.

He had abandoned so many things in his life. He had abandoned a life with his father even with his sins, he had abandoned a different life with his mother figure even with the potential consequences and he had abandoned his heart in order to try to obtain salvation for the world. He had abandoned everything he had or could possibly have enjoyed so far. It had not been for nothing. If nothing else, Shirou Emiya would be his legacy. It was the best possible one he could have left...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> We Start the chapter off with Shirou Emiya finally finishing the Magical Formula that would allow him to save Kiritsugu. Most of this part is just lore about the detailed Magical system that this story follows as well as what a feat it is for Shirou to create a Magical Formula.
> 
> About the Aria. I wasn't quite sure what would not sound terrible but I just decided to go for something vaguely meaningful. Basically it is the meaning of the process of the spell as well as Shirou at this current moment. What the spell does is basically use Shirou's connection from the Root to draw forth the concept. He draws from the Root or 'truth' in the Aria the shell or 'significance' of the concept and he uses his own magical energy to actualize the shell of the concept. Basically, Aria kinda describes his life right now as the Root/truth provides him with concepts/meaning for existence while he is also actively trying to find meaning in life at the same time.
> 
> After succeeding in the spell now with a Magical Formula behind it, he needs something to test it on. Whatever he is trying to test on needs to have two requirements. He needs the concept to be complicated to see if it has the same limitations and he also needs the concept to be powerful to some degree to see if he can achieve more with effectively the same magical energy as before. I could have him do something else to test the results but I think this strangely fit him as it is not being actively suicidal but rather his confidence in his own abilities and determination for his goal to succeed.
> 
> More lore and justification on why Shirou does what he does as well as the Magical Theory involved within. We also now know how close to the goal he is and what he needs to be able to complete his goal successfully.
> 
> Immediately something goes wrong as he is suddenly limited on time. This is the troubles of being in school for Shirou. He already knows most school material from having to learn it for magecraft but now he has to do an assignment that will take up lots of his time. Fortunately, he is doing it with Rin but still it is quite troublesome for him.
> 
> He remembers his promise and attempts to make good on it. He is still rather socially inept in communication so Rin takes the opportunity to tease him on it. Rin knows the rumors in school about them and she doesn't really care but she does want the current state to be the extent of those rumors so she warns Shirou to be careful.
> 
> Rin travels to the Emiya Residence for the first time and has a brief meeting with Kiritsugu and we learn about his current state just as Shirou complete his Magical Formula to hopefully defeat the curse when he masters it to a sufficient level. Rin delivers her observations on the situation and then we finish the chapter by seeing what Kiritsugu thinks of his son actually having friends now.
> 
> This portion is actually not the resolution of Rin's trips to the Emiya Residence but it was getting too long so I decided to split this portion of the chapter and continue it on the next chapter. It doesn't really effect the flow since the other parts of this chapter will flow slightly better if it is separated anyway but just a heads up that there will be some more of this.


	15. The Denouement of an Obsession, Part 4

Shortly after dinner at the Emiya Residence on the first day of the project, Rin had left the Emiya Residence to head back home. Shirou had promised to walk her all the way to the central shopping district of Miyama town. It was at the street just before the central shopping district where the scenery transitioned from the traditional Japanese housing of the North side of Miyama town to the South side of Miyama town where the European Mansions were based.

As they were walking, Rin noticed that the sky had gone dark. She had never gone home this late before. In a way she was glad that Shirou had escorted her thus far. Compared to the European side of the town, the traditional Japanese portion differed in infrastructure. Aside from the style changes, the streets were darker. The silence was deeper. There weren't obvious indications of life on the street she was on. There were no cars, no people. They were the only ones here. She wasn't sure if she wouldn't have gotten lost in such an environment if Shirou had not escorted her back to the streets she was familiar with.

Rin thought about her first visit to the Emiya Residence. The house that Shirou lived in was not what she had expected. Shirou had mentioned that he had lived at the North side of Miyama town where such buildings were located but she always had an impression that her friend had lived in a more reasonable housing as opposed to something more similar to what she lived in.

The Emiya Residence was huge. While it could not truly be described as grand for it lacked the furnishings and intention to be so, it was rather sizeable. It wasn't very obvious that it was the house of a Magus. Due to its open nature, the magical energy in the air was left to flow freely. Was it not for the bounded field, one would have to be within the premises of the Emiya Residence in order to detect any trace of Magical Energy.

The bounded field that surrounded the Emiya Residence was different to what she was used to. She did not have much experience with bounded fields. Prior to the death of her father, he had educated her on the basics but had not planned to teach her more until she was of a more advanced age. The only knowledge she had of bounded fields were the ones on the Tohsaka Mansion as well as what she was taught by Kirei.

As far as she could tell, the bounded fields on the Tohsaka Mansion were similar to the one's on the Matou Mansion. They were offensive in nature and once fully activated in times of the Holy Grail War, they held the potential to be lethal to any intruders. More than the offensive similarities, the bounded fields of the Residences of two of the founding families of the Holy Grail War were also similar in the aura they gave off.

They lacked a human presence. The only presence they gave off aside from the basic Magical Energy powering the defenses were a feeling of lethality and coldness. Rin thought that the cold presence one could feel from the respective defenses were one's that the residents living within had also experienced by living there. The Bounded Field that surrounded the Emiya Residence was different.

It was not an old bounded field. She could tell that by its power. As time passed, things grew in mystery and thus power. The few centuries of mystery of age on the Tohsaka and Matou bounded fields had served in enhance their lethality slightly. Such mystery gained through age had not been present within the barrier of the Emiya Residence.

She could tell it was relatively new. The bounded field had to be less than a decade old. Even so, it had a unique human presence to it that even 'better' barriers lacked. The unique presence was tied in to the magical energy of the bounded field. The bounded field was well made, although it had no offensive capabilities, it was extremely effective for its purpose. It would warn of individuals with malicious intentions and would definitely be successful unless directly disabled by an excellent Magus.

Its detection powers were excellent and there was a human element most likely gained through the emotions of what the Magus felt for its potential inhabitants when it was created. It had a human presence that felt of concern for the inhabitants. Even though the bounded field wasn't sentient, not even partially so, it felt as if the defenses itself wished for the inhabitants to be safe in any situation of peril. Such a sensation was unfamiliar to the Tohsaka.

With such a defense attaining an emotional quality that was not to be found in a typical bounded field of a regular Magus family, the residents within were indeed also different from the regular Magus. For as long as Rin Tohsaka had known Shirou Emiya, she knew that he only had one goal. He wanted to undo the Curse that his father was obviously feeling the effects of and prevent his likely death from the Curse.

It was not a normal goal for a child of ten when she first met to possess. For one, it was unlikely for a regular Magus to be under such a vicious Curse but the true anomaly was that it was atypical for a typical Magus. It was an emotional goal. Sure, even at their coldest, most Magus families acknowledged emotional bonds and this wasn't that absurd a quest to have when considering familiar bonds but there was something beyond that.

That something was the lengths her friend went through to attempt to succeed at what was most likely an impossible quest. Most Magi wouldn't have gotten as far as he did. The moment they comprehended what an impossible task this was, they would have given up. Moreover, they would have more selfish desires. Their first priority would be for any unlearned magecraft of their predecessors to be passed down and learned.

Shirou was different. This quest he had been on. It had become an obsession for him. Rin could comfortably state that most of his life was dominated by this issue. His personal advancement in magecraft was fully engineered towards how far he would be able to help his father if he had learned a particular aspect of magecraft. He neglected most other aspects of his life. He neglected himself even.

She never did understand what kind of bond she had with his father. She had never met his father. All she knew was that Kiritsugu Emiya was the saviour of her friend from the Fuyuki Fire that culminated at the end of the fourth Holy Grail War. She had always thought it was some instinct of gratitude for Shirou to repay the debt of life that had occurred. What she learned today was different.

Around his father, Shirou seemed to be more complete as a human being than he normally was. His worries seemed to fade away somewhat and he seemed to become less of the determined individual she had always known him as but rather more like a typical twelve-year-old boy around his beloved father.

Similarly, while she had not known Kiritsugu Emiya before this, she could see that he too had also become more complete a human being when around Shirou. She had seen him in that instant before he became aware of Shirou returning home. That Kiritsugu Emiya was different to the one she had talked with over dinner.

That Kiritsugu Emiya was what she felt could only be described as having a tortured existence. While she was not the best at determining emotions from a single look alone, it was obvious that Kiritsugu Emiya could be summarized by the word despair. That had changed when he became aware of Shirou.

His stress and whatever haunted him in life seemed to have mostly disappeared. He no longer looked as though he had lost all hope in all facets in life. He looked at Shirou with a kindly fatherly expression full of affection. It was something she herself had only seen very rarely in her own father. But that look alone from Kiritsugu to Shirou had served to inform Rin or part of the reason of why Shirou had been so determined on his quest throughout the entire course of their relationship.

As she pondered on her findings of the day, she noticed that they would reach the Miyama central shopping district in a few streets where they would split off. They had been silent thus far in their walk.

"You are very close to your father. I didn't think that I would expect that. I guess that I understand you a bit better now."

"It is not out of gratitude that I wish to save him from the Curse…" Shirou said as he nodded in reply to Rin's statement.

"I know that now but I suppose that I expected a colder relationship as he was a Magus. While my father had still been a fatherly figure for me, he wasn't as open normally and he often had to be colder and stricter at times with me and saku… *cough**cough*"

"Are you okay?" Shirou questioned as Rin suddenly started coughing.

"*Cough**cough* Erm… Yes. It is a chilly day at night isn't it? You don't have to walk me any longer S-S-Shirou, I can make my way back now." She said as she started to walk quickly away from Shirou, almost as if she was escaping the conversation forcefully, leaving him standing on the walkway they were talking on.

Shirou narrowed his eyes as he looked at her disappearing figure. She had coughed just as it seemed she was about to mention another name when describing her relationship with her father. Did she have another family member, perhaps estranged? He made a mental note about this interaction.

He didn't have much time to think about Rin's behaviour. From the look his father gave him as he was leaving the house, he had wanted to have a chat with him when he headed back home after escorting Rin. He quickly turned his way back in the opposite direction and quickly jogged back to the Emiya Residence.

As he slid open the door to the living room, he saw that Kiritsugu was there as expected. There were also two cups of tea on the table on opposite sides. It seemed that he had made a cup for Shirou. While his father was hopeless at cooking, he was acceptable at preparing beverages. Shirou took the cue of his father and sat down opposite of him, taking a sip of the tea before looking at his father.

"Shirou, it is nice to see that you have made some friends in school. I was worried for you in that department."

"Ah yes. I have some other friends other than Rin as well. You don't have to be worried about me Kiritsugu." Shirou said as he scratched his neck with his hand by reaching behind his head, transitioning suddenly into looking like the sheepish twelve-year-old that he actually was.

Kiritsugu smiled at him. "You know, I never had too many friends as a child and perhaps I am not the best person to tell you this, but be sure to cherish them, you never know what might happen…"

Shirou nodded, taking his father's advice.

"Shirou, there are some things that are important to remember in life. I have made many regrets in life. As such, there are some things that I have learned from my failings. Don't ever forget that boys who make a girl cry will end in ruins." Kiritsugu Emiya said this with a serious tone, his eyes had momentarily darkened with bitter memories before returning to a fatherly expression when looking at him.

"Kiritsugu!" Shirou whined. "Rin and I aren't in that type of relationship!" Shirou clarified. His cheeks were red. He had already heard enough at school. He didn't mind it then but it was another matter when his father was the one commenting on his friendship with Rin.

"I never said you were. Though it is nice to have some confirmation that you aren't getting too ahead for your age. You should still take note of my advice regardless." Kiritsugu laughed slightly as he replied.

* * *

In that same week of Rin first going over to the Emiya Residence, she had also made other trips daily to the Emiya Residence to work on the project. It was now the final day of the project and the final day Rin would come over to the Emiya Residence for this assignment. Today was a weekend. Rin had asked Shirou if it was okay to come over on a weekend. He had agreed but he had also made sure to caution her about coming. He had not stated what she should be wary of but just that she should be prepared mentally for something alarming.

She had wondered what would be so alarming that would happen on a weekend to require a warning from shirou. She had still made the trip to the Emiya Residence anyway. While Shirou had given her a warning, it was in the spirit of still expecting her presence on a weekend anyway. It was the last day of their project after all, it would be nice for both of them if they could complete the project in due haste.

The project had not been challenging so far. But they had both enjoyed the project for it was catered to their tastes. Rin had thought that the project itself and them completing the project together had been enjoyable so far. She could tell that while Shirou had wanted to complete the assignment as fast as possible, he had also been having fun in the rare moments where the quest he was so obsessive over had momentarily slipped his mind.

Today was the final part of the project that they would complete. They had divided the project into multiple portions. Today, the final portion was about History. They had decided to base this part of the project on mythological history. It was a topic that was easier for both of them as they had some exposure to this subject in studying magecraft.

Traveling to the Emiya Residence was a routine by now. While it wasn't the quickest of trips to make from the Tohsaka Mansion, it was a shorter trip than going to school. Kiritsugu had also gotten used to her going over. He never said too much to her, but he always displayed a kindly and welcoming front whenever he spotted her in the residence.

They would complete the project in record time. Half the day had not passed and they had already finished the project. It was time for lunch and the only thing left for the project was a few small touches either of them could do alone. Rin had promised Shirou that she would complete the final checks on the project herself. She decided that it would be time to leave the Emiya Residence to head back home after having lunch.

Today Rin had been allowed to help Shirou prepare lunch. It had taken them a while to prepare dinner, longer than she had expected. This was due to the portions. When preparing the meal, Rin had noticed that Shirou had cooked an abnormally large portion for just three people but she had not thought too much about it and questioned the portion sizes. The earlier warning by Shirou to be mentally prepared today for something alarming had already slipped her mind.

After preparing lunch, they had set the table and after Shirou had called Kiritsugu, they had sat down to eat. It was just when Rin was about to take her first bite into the dishes that she heard loud thumping footsteps as well as panting. A loud shout proceeded to ring out just as a figure barged into the living room.

"SHIROU!"

A teenage figure with light brown hair and eyes wearing jeans and a simple striped yellow shirt rushed into the room. As the figure rushed into the room, she slammed the sliding door to the side, causing a loud thud that Rin thought may have broken the door. After rushing into the room, she had proceeded to point a finger at Shirou.

"How could you start without me? How could you be so cruel? How could you… Eh! Who is this girl sitting beside you Shirou?"

As Rin was processing the arrival of the unknown figure who appeared to know the Emiya pair, she spotted Shirou sighing next to her in resignation and placing a hand on his head, rubbing it. It appeared that this was not a rare occurrence and that whomever this individual was, Shirou was used to such behavior.

She also spotted Kiritsugu Emiya also not being surprised by such an occurrence. He had a slightly different expression from Shirou however. Instead of watching with exasperation and slight annoyance, Kiritsugu was instead shaking his head slightly fondly as a slight smile made its way on his lips.

"Must you come in so violently every time?" Shirou said in exasperation as he continued rubbing his hand on his head.

"This is Rin, she is a friend and classmate from my Junior High school, she has been coming over the past few days to do a project with me for our school term grades." Shirou then gestured to Rin

"Rin, this is Fujimaru Taiga, a menace who interferes in my peaceful life too frequently and also my self-proclaimed elder big sister." Shirou stated this in a deadpan voice as one of his eyebrows appeared to twitch.

Upon hearing Shirou's introduction, the figure, Fujimaru Taiga proceeded to adopt an exaggerated betrayed expression. Rin, still alarmed by the appearance of the figure, had proceeded to place her chopsticks down on the table.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Taiga." Rin, proceeded to nod slightly as she greeted his sister.

"Ah… Yes. It is nice to meet you too Rin." Taiga said hesitatingly as she narrowed her eyes at Rin, apparently searching for something that Shirou could not tell. She continued to stare at Rin as she retrieved her portion of Rice and soup from the kitchen at the back of the room and take a seat in front of Rin, beside Kiritsugu.

As she placed her portion of her meal down on the table, she looked at Shirou with an atypical serious expression as she proceeded to give Shirou a question in a serious tone.

"Shirou Emiya. Are the two of you a couple?"

"No. Of course not. Ignoring our current age, we are certainly not a couple…" Shirou said this as he stared daggers into Taiga with a menacing tone.

"Oh! That's fine then. Let us eat!" Upon hearing his reply, Taiga proceeded to change her serious expression into a cheerful one as she disregarded Shirou's stare and became the first one to dig into her meal.

The rest of the meal had gone by peacefully. Taiga had been continuously questioning Rin with Rin trying her best to answer in a normal way by constantly providing safe answers under the onslaught. Taiga had been also making small talk with Kiritsugu. Shirou had just been staring menacingly at Taiga throughout.

There were no more complications and major surprises from the woman until Rin was just about to leave the Emiya Residence after lunch to head back home. Taiga had bombarded her with a request to stay for a chance to get to know Rin better. Rin, in the interest of courtesy and lacking a reason to leave had reluctantly agreed. Shirou had not been successful in preventing Taiga from proceeding with her antics.

Throughout the rest of the day, Taiga had proceeded to grasp all of Rin's attention. Shirou's attempts at distracting her away and discovering her motives at bothering his friend was unsuccessful. Rin's several discreet attempts at moving the conversations towards a point where she could make a polite exit were also unsuccessful. The pair of friends were drawn up into Taiga's momentum when she had remembered that it was time to spar with Shirou in Kendo.

Due to Shirou wanting to fend Taiga away and concentrate on his quest, he had avoided Taiga's previous attempts in the recent months to initiate a spar between the two of them. Shirou would have fended off today's attempt as well if it had not been Rin who had expressed some interest in watching Shirou spar with her.

It was part of their routine to spar together without weapons as practice for Reinforcement often but she had never known Shirou's expertise at swordplay. She was intrigued as to what Shirou's skills were at sparring with a weapon. While Shirou had mentioned that he was far better with a sword than barehanded, she had never had a chance to discover how much better he was. Today, even with all its weirdness was a perfect opportunity to find out.

They gathered in the dojo. Shirou stood at one end of the dojo, in both his hands were shinai, the bamboo practice swords they now used in kendo. Rin wasn't sure as to what the legality was regarding dual wielding in actual official kendo sparring but it seemed that this was acceptable to both the current participants. Taiga on the other hand had only one shinai clutched tightly between both her hands as she got into a stance and faced Shirou with a serious expression.

After a moment of solidarity in which both the opponents made eye contact, Taiga made the first move by rushing across the dojo with an overhead slash. Shirou spun as he used the sword in his left hand to intercept Taiga's blow, using his sword in his right hand to attempt to strike her body. Taiga's greater power had broken through Shirou's interception of the blow but she had to back away to avoid getting hit by his other sword.

With the opening initial offensive failing for Taiga, it was the time for Shirou to reverse the situation. He steadily advanced, making opposing slashes with both his swords, gaining ground while not allowing Taiga to attempt to block a blow for fear that the other sword would take advantage of the preoccupation and strike her. Taiga was off balance from the calculated onslaught, another few slashes from Shirou and he would drive her back enough to exit the agreed upon sparring area.

It was not game over however. Taiga had figured out that she had to break Shirou's rhythm by attacking. She regrouped from the offensive and started smacking away the next few strikes of Shirou's with her greater strength and then she started to go on an offensive herself. Due to her greater strength, her strikes would drive the swords Shirou was holding beyond his control. As such, Shirou would not be able to use his other sword to strike Taiga as she was striking as that would have made him vulnerable to more of the momentum of the strikes and thus compromise his stance.

Taiga's momentum suddenly gained from her offensive had gone as quickly as she started. After Shirou's had initially reacted to the strikes, he started to slowly control the momentum and gain the upper hand once again. He did this by starting to instead parry the strikes in a different manner, barely touching Taiga's sword. He kept spinning around and parrying her strikes at weird angles, bleeding off the force of the strikes and exhausting Taiga while not wasting energy needlessly and completely nullifying the force of Taiga's offensive.

The rest of the spar had gone on similarly. Taiga would try to use her physical advantages to dictate the pace while Shirou would quickly get the situation under control by controlling the pace with his greater skill at swordplay. Shirou would vary the rhythm and speed of his responses, occasionally surprising Taiga and prodding her reaction to his feints.

Just as the spar was reaching several minutes, Shirou had launched an offensive with a strike directly targeting Taiga's sword that was uncharacteristically strong. Before this critical strike, he had started to slowly lower his strength used in previous strikes, luring her into a false sense of his true strength and thus allowing him to surprise her. This strike forced Taiga to stumble backwards which Shirou quickly took advantage of with several slashes at her feet and body before rushing at her with a greater offensive that forced Taiga to the ground. She had been exhausted from her offensive and this had just been the final nail in the coffin.

The spar had ended with Shirou holding one of his Shinai at his side pointing at the ground and another pointing at Taiga's neck. She soon surrendered and ended the spar. At the end of this, Taiga was sweating and breathing heavily while he looked like he had just taken a peaceful walk. It was apparent that despite all of her advantages, Shirou far outstripped her in skill at this point.

Rin observed the scene before her, Taiga was looking at the ground with a defeated but resigned expression. This must have not been the first time she had suffered a defeat to a boy many years her junior. Shirou was still putting on his typical serious expression. He was still ready for another few rounds should someone offer.

Rin never thought that Shirou would be so good in swordplay. This was weird for she sparred with him often, albeit without weapons but she still should have a better general idea as to Shirou's skill was. Shirou had gotten incredibly good at hand to hand combat from their sparring, better than her in pure skill even. But him using a sword had appeared to hit another level beyond what she thought his capabilities were.

For the past two years that she had sparred with him, she had made several observations about his progress. When they first started sparring, while it was apparent that Shirou had no skill or even basic training as to how to fight without weapons, he had still been able to prevent her from trouncing him with his faster and more agile physique as well as uncanny instincts and great footwork.

Rin had been surprised by the degree of proficiency in which Shirou had been able to use his steps in both offensive and defensive moves. Just by using his swift footwork he had been able to often bleed off most of the force of her strikes even with reinforcement, similar to what he had done to Taiga today.

She had been able to determine that those were not regular martial arts stances but it wasn't until Shirou had mentioned as an afterthought that he was quite proficient in swordplay had she knew where Shirou obtained his skill from. Still, to adapt that skill from the realms of swordplay to bare handed combat was largely a result of his natural instincts for combat.

Beyond his footwork, his instincts were the most dangerous parts of his skill set. Rin had gotten a lot better at martial arts across the time she had known Shirou, honed by regularly sparring with him. Even Kirei Kotomine who far outstripped her in skill and potential within this aspect had praised her progress in martial arts. It was Shirou's instincts that were able to even stand against her growing skills without much trouble.

She had gotten frustrated regularly in their spars. Often, she would attempt to find some way to try to surprise Shirou and allow her to gain a victory over him. None of her attempts had ever worked. He would always be able to see through her attempts and in the instances where he was truly surprised, he had been able to adapt quickly.

What she saw today, was no different. The only thing of note was that the capabilities Shirou showed today were far greater. Even when she knew nothing about armed combat, she could see that Taiga was no mere amateur. Her strikes were calculated, she was skilled. She had been using her advantages at ever point of the spar to the greatest capabilities yet they were all fruitless against Shirou. His skill within the sword was simply supreme. Even Taiga's great skill which even a regular bystander would be able to tell, was made to look like child's play against him.

Shirou simply was just so much better in swordplay against Taiga that it was foolish to contemplate that he could ever lose against her. It wasn't that Shirou could be holding back in their hand to hand spars, Shirou just appeared to hit another level when there were swords in his hands. For the moments where he was in sync with his strikes and not holding back his skill for tactical reasons, he appeared to be one with the swords themselves.

Rin would have tried to dig deeper into this phenomenon but it took but a minuscule amount of time for Taiga to get over her defeat and resume hounding Rin. Taiga had bombarded her about her thoughts and observations on the spar in which she tried to give only safe and uneducated answers for she wasn't sure how this eccentric woman would react if she revealed that she had sparred with Shirou often even without mentioning magecraft.

She was stuck in a loop where she was not able to get into contact with Shirou to find a way to fend off this woman whom she was confused as to why had been so obsessed over her presence at the Emiya Residence. Shirou had also not been able to direct Taiga's attentions elsewhere. The only respite she had was when it was time to leave. Even then, she hadn't been able to help Shirou prepare dinner before she was hounded by Taiga while waiting for dinner to be ready. Fortunately, she had been able to leave after dinner and it appeared that Shirou too had gotten exhausted as to the antics of his sister figure today for he had signaled Kiritsugu to distract Taiga while making an excuse of escorting her back away from the Emiya Residence as a way to get away from Taiga today.

"I am very sorry about Taiga today. I have no idea what has gotten into her. She isn't normally so… Taiga-like. It must be hard for you to undergo that." Shirou had started apologizing once they had got out of the doors of the Emiya Residence. He had truly been embarrassed as to the impression this gave his friend.

"It is fine Shirou. I believe I had an enjoyable day today even if it was a bit strange and alarming. I don't think you should apologize on behalf of her. She is part of your family after all. Even if they are a bit weird, even if we are Magi, you should cherish those experiences." Rin spoke this to Shirou in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. The expression she was displaying was the same as conveyed through her tone. She was looking gentle and just a bit melancholic.

"Oh… I know. It is just… It is just that I hadn't expected such a response from you." Shirou was surprised by her words. Even now after his reply, he was expecting her to return to her usual self and berate him for being astonished that there was this side to her.

"I know... It is unlike me but you do have a great family. Both Kiritsugu and Taiga really care for you."

"It must be hard for you… I know you have been working on something that you believe will work. I have full faith in you as well even if you are hiding what you have been working on from me. Still… there is a part of you that thinks of the worst-case scenario. Kiritsugu doesn't have too much longer left does he?"

Shirou was silent. Not denying nor acknowledging her words.

"You know… I can sympathize with you. I don't think you know this. You couldn't have known… I wasn't immediately an orphan after the fourth Holy Grail War…"

"During the Holy Grail War, my mother and I were to live at my maternal grandparent's home to be kept safe and out of the way for the duration of the war… I ran back to the city for an incident and she had to come back to look for me… She was fine after we had reunited but a day after, she had to go out for a meeting…"

"I wasn't with her for the meeting. But after the meeting, she had not come back and there was no news. It wasn't until days later when Kotomine had arrived at my grandparent's home that I had been informed that my mother was in hospital and somehow hurt due to the war and that the war was over and my father had been a casualty."

"She was out of the hospital several days later in time for my father's funeral but she was never the same. Due to the incident that had caused her injuries, she had been confined to a wheelchair and had suffered brain damage…"

"She had continued to suffer for several years… while I was able to help her during that time, it was hard to see her slowly deteriorating from her already terrible state and eventually pass… I hope you will have a better result… Shirou…"

She left him on the walkway once again, much like the same way she did several days ago. It was a different situation this time. She had tears in her eyes as she walked away. This time, Shirou was not looking at her. He was not looking at anything. His eyes were screwed shut, his fists were held by his side and clenched so tightly that he was beginning to feel the pain in his muscles and bones.

That could not happen. He would do better. He had to. He had known more about what Rin had gone through now. He knows her motives and is touched by the sentiment of her trying to help him mentally but this was not what would happen. He had to be better. Starting from now. He had to be better. Whatever suffering Kiritisugu would undergo would now each be a greater sin on himself. He had to stop hiding from the reality of the situation. It was urgent. He had to do better. He had to be better. Starting from now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> We resume this chapter by immediately carrying on from the previous one. Rin makes her observations on the defense of the Emiya Residence as well as its residents. She revisit Shirou's interactions with Kiritsugu and correlates it with what she knows of him.
> 
> Rin informs Shirou of what she thinks of his quest now and almost accidentally mentions Sakura when stating her past experiences within her own family. While Tokiomi is a father that is also a Magus with all the caveats attached to those roles, he does have his moments even in canon. Shirou notices her slip up but doesn't dwell on it for he has to rush back for a chat with his own father.
> 
> Kiritsugu expresses his own relief at Shirou's social progress while also conveying his limited advice on such matters. He diverges on a tangent while thinking about the female friends he has had. The phrasing of his advice makes Shirou think that he has gotten the wrong impression, causing much embarrassment. Kiritsugu does stand with his advice though.
> 
> Next portion is Rin coming over for her last day of the project. Shirou gives her a warning about coming but doesn't discourage her not to come. She is aware of the warning but is confused as to why. The rest of the day goes fine. Perfect even. Shirou's warning has slipped from her thoughts. Since we have skipped two years in the past chapters, Taiga makes her appearance.
> 
> Taiga causes her usual chaos before questioning Rin and his relationship. Unlike in the case of Kiritsugu getting the wrong impression, Shirou is not embarrassed by the question since he kind of expects it as opposed to the surprise that Kiritsugu was going there. He is annoyed by Taiga's antics today since he is trying to make a decent impression on Rin even if he isn't actively trying anything to do that.
> 
> Taiga is extra annoying to the pair today but Rin backs her up when she runs into a suggestion of sparring. Rin is curious about Shirou's skill when actually armed and thus encourages Taiga. The spar commences and Shirou trounces Taiga pretty easily by now.
> 
> Shirou has started beating Taiga for a while now and his skill is still rapidly growing. Part of his skill set is his instincts. This is due to his other Origin, Sword. Instead of just manifesting in swords, he is also more in sync when using a sword and has a limited clairvoyance granted by the combination of both his Origins. When someone uses a sword, there is a concept in how they decide to defend or go on the attack. This awareness on their degree of aggressiveness and the way they use the sword combined with his inherent understanding on the ways to use the sword grants him a instinct or clairvoyance that allows him to see through moves and plan better moves in advance easily. He subconsciously knows all the best ways to parry and the possible moves that can be made with a sword. This all combines to allow him an easy victory even against a decently skilled opponent in Taiga.
> 
> Rin in her own observations can also notice that Shirou is on another level of competence when using a sword.
> 
> The spar is over and the rest of the day passes without much fuss beyond the usual Taiga-ness. Rin is still being hounded by her and Shirou eventually has enough and offers to escort her away from the Emiya Residence to get away from Taiga. An emotional chat occurs due to Rin trying to get Shirou mentally ready for the eventuality that he might fail. She also offers her own experiences as a way to sympathize with him and to let him know that he has someone who can know how he feels if the time comes. This is all meant to help him feel better. This may have backfired though by acting as a catalyst for Shirou to become more determined. Too determined.


	16. The Denouement of an Obsession, Part 5

Another half a year had passed. For the residents of Fuyuki City, nothing had been changed by the passage of time across this half of the year. For some individuals, their lives were going well, for others, their lives had continued on their downward trajectory. Life had gone on as normal. Nothing had changed in this time. This was different for one special individual within Fuyuki City.

Shirou Emiya the Student was not currently doing well. Shirou Emiya the Student had been an normal student, albeit withdrawn and mysterious. He had still otherwise been a perfectly successful student being able to attain excellent grades coupled with an acceptable conduct. This was the extent of what most people could find out and saw of Shirou Emiya the Student.

Throughout the past months, this had changed. Shirou Emiya the Student had been less of an exemplary student compared to what he had been before. The cause of this was due to Shirou Emiya the Student having undergone what was an abrupt alteration of his typical behaviors in school throughout these past few months.

It first started with homework assignments. Shirou Emiya the Student always had submitted his homework on time and at an exceptional quality. This had changed. He had ceased submitting homework assignments entirely. This would have been a major issue to the teachers normally but for this term the homework assignments were not graded and were thus not considered a compulsory part of school. It was still preferred by the teachers as a tool to assess a student's progress of course. It was only the most delinquent of students that did not submit their homework.

The only thing that decided a student's grade for that year was a project assignment which had been completed and submitted early by Shirou Emiya the Student several months ago. That had not been the extent of the decline that had befallen Shirou Emiya the Student. Shirou Emiya the Student had also been found sleeping in class. It was obvious that the cause of this was that he had come to school exhausted. Almost to the point of unconsciousness.

For the other instances where Shirou Emiya the Student was currently not sleeping in class, he had obviously been studying something on the thick notebook that he had started to write on in school. It had not been something relevant to the material taught in school and it was quite apparent that it was his own private project that he had decided to work on in class.

Shirou Emiya had not been a good student recently. The teachers had noticed but there had not been a drive to correct this problem. There were measures taken however. This problem had been conveyed and brought up to notice to whom was publicly known as the closest friend of Shirou Emiya the Student. It was assumed that whatever the problem was, it was best to be settled by her.

Shirou Emiya the Friend was not being the best 'friend' at the moment. The how of this state was due to Shirou Emiya the Friend being a tremendous emotional burden at the moment for causing worry to his friend. Said friend had been extremely worried by the actions of Shirou Emiya the Friend across the past months and was currently lamenting herself as the cause for this.

Rin Tohsaka was the aforementioned friend of Shirou Emiya the Friend whom was not being a very good example of a friend at the moment. She had kept a close eye on him since the intimate conversation they had several months back. She had a motive in mind when she had decided to tell him about that low point in her short life.

She had seen the situation for what it was and while she had believed in her friend, she also had a reluctant but also very strong faith in the limitations of humans. Especially the limitations of humans who are currently at the age of twelve. Even if the humans were Magi, they still had limitations. She had believed that the most likely outcome was to be a negative and undesired one for her friend.

She did not believe Shirou Emiya the Son had been prepared for the very likely death of his father. It was one thing to be aware of the possible outcome and try to prevent it, it was another to fully accept the possibility and brace for it. Shirou Emiya the Son had not accepted the possibility of the death of his father nor would he have been prepared for the emotional blow that it would cause.

At that point she had believed that it was a good decision to make her friend, Shirou Emiya the Son aware of the possibility of the death of his father and be prepared emotionally for it. Perhaps is still was a good decision. It had not gone the way that she thought though. What she had expected and what had happened was not the same. What had happened should have been what she should have expected from Shirou Emiya the Individual.

She had expected and preferred that while Shirou would continue his path to try and find the solution to prevent the death of his father, he would also be mentally prepared for the outcome and when the near inevitable possibility came, Shirou Emiya the Individual would come out slightly better mentally and emotionally from the acceptance of the possibility to the situation in advance.

What had happened was that Shirou Emiya the Son had now accepted the possibility of the death of his father. What this acceptance had done was instead heighten his already single-minded determination to affect the outcome of the situation.

It was an immediate change that had fallen onto her friend. She had noticed that something was off immediately. The next day after the conversation, she had met him by the Fuyuki Bridge to travel to school together. This had not changed. The real change was what she had noticed even in her sleep deprived state in the morning.

There was something that had changed in the aura that Shirou Emiya the Individual had given off. His appearance was same as usual. His expressions and the way he carried himself was different. While he had acted largely the same around her, the way he appeared on approach was different.

His shoulders were tighter, his muscles were tense. His eyebrows were more serious. Every aspect of how Shirou Emiya the individual had carried himself was more intense. Beyond such observations that she had made about her friend, she had also noticed that Shirou Emiya had also been tired when he had met up with her in the morning.

There were many things that she had been aware of about her friend. One of the things she had been aware of was the trait of Shirou Emiya that he had not required much sleep. He could sustain and operate himself at a high level with barely any sleep. She had never seen him tired. This was why it had been so surprising when she had seen him tired for the first time.

She wondered what had he done to make him feel exhausted and look exhausted. She had immediately linked the state of her friend to her conversation with him. She had thought that it was a phase, several days of her friend being off before he resumed to normal after processing the revelation.

He would not return to his normal state after a few days. Beyond the ways it had affected her and what she observed, it was also apparent to the outside world beyond their bubble. Shirou Emiya the Student had also changed. It had been a concern for the teachers and as his closest friend, they had informed her but their concerns were at the bottom of her attention at the moment.

The situation had gotten worse as time passed. Rin had stopped teaching Shirou magecraft recently for he had mastered the basics and gotten a good foundation in the main branches of magecraft. This was all Rin had set out to teach him initially. It was with this basic foundation that whatever more Shirou had needed to know within the realms of magecraft, he could find out himself. Furthermore, beyond the basics that she had taught him, Shirou had already known some advanced theory in some departments that were even greater than the extent of her own personal knowledge.

There was little left more for Rin to be able to teach him. What more she knew was too specialized and not of relevance to Shirou. Even had she offered, he would not have taken her offer at this point for he had been occupied with other matters. Teaching Shirou further magecraft was not a thought that had crossed her mind. She had gotten over the temporary slowing in the progress that she had personally suffered in her own magecraft when she first met him and she needed the time to take advantage of her once again rapid progress through what she wanted to achieve in magecraft.

Due to the conclusion of her lessons with Shirou on magecraft, he had stopped coming over to the Tohsaka Mansion for lessons. He had still come over occasionally to refer to the library or books in the basement workshop but the frequency of his visits had fallen greatly. While Rin had not required the attention, it would not be out of place to state that Shirou had been neglecting her as a friend compared to how he was before.

What was the cause of these changes? It was not hard for Rin to deduce the cause. Her friend was an individual of extreme focus. What he was currently doing was neglecting everything else in his life to an extent that he had never done before. The reason of neglect was to make the most efficient use of the limited time that he had.

Rin had thought that her conversation with him was the catalyst for this change. What Shirou had most likely done was feel the pressure to a greater degree of how little time he likely had left. This warranted more time or a more efficient use of the time he had. As such, what time he had used for sleep at home had been regulated to school.

The extra time he had gained when not in school was used up in his quest to find and use the correct magecraft to solve his father's predicament. When Shirou had met with her on the way to school, she had been able to sense less of the magical energy that he normally possessed. While Magi could suppress their own magical energy, the alternative was that Shirou had likely used too much and had drained himself nearly dry on magical energy before traveling to school.

Rin had still been able to sense an adequate amount of magical energy that was enough for Shirou to stay conscious. Not enough for most spells, but given what she knew of her friend, he would force himself to draw more and strain his own magical circuits if he thought it would help in his quest. This was proven when she had felt bursts of magical energy in school.

Obviously, the only Magus in Fuyuki Junior High was Shirou and thus the magical energy could only be produced by him. The bursts of magical energy came during the free periods where students were left with a short period of time without lessons. Most students had used this time to visit the canteen and eat.

Rin had noticed that whenever the current lesson was over and a free period was next, Shirou would always disappear from the class to somewhere else in the school before she could talk to him. She had tried to use her senses to find him but while traces of his magical energy were in the air, he had likely been in a bounded field he had created that would allow him to avoid detection from her.

It was immensely frustrating that she could sense his energy but she had not been able to track him down. Shirou's actions were currently a source of worry for her. She wasn't sure as to the right course of action. His actions were not healthy and were hurting himself but it wasn't as if she would be able to ask him to stop, not that it would be right to do so.

What she wished to do was stage an intervention into the situation and confront him. Even if she did so, she had been unable to think of the correct action beyond that. It was only right for Shirou to follow his quest to its logical conclusion, whatever it was. She was effectively left helpless, forced to look upon her friend as he harmed himself for his objective while not being able to provide any help or stop his actions.

Her interactions with Shirou had become less and less frequent as more time had passed, they still had conversations and he had still acknowledged her existence unlike the rest of the school but aside from her silent show of support that she gave to him, it wasn't right for her to demand more time from him, especially when it would take more out of him to compensate for the time lost.

As weeks passed, she had settled on the actions that she would take on behalf of her friend. Beyond his own bubble, Shirou had not cared much about the outside world. Nevertheless, the outside world would affect him and hinder his quest if the correct measures were not taken. Due to this, Rin had taken it upon herself to cast memory interference spells on the teachers of the school in order for them to overlook Shirou's actions and not try to 'help' him.

For the most part, her only method of helping him had gone fine, although it had been slightly tedious for her to ask the teachers pointed questions once in a while to check if the spell had worn off or to cast the spell again. The only thing of concern was that this had somehow aroused the suspicion of Issei Ryuudou. It appeared that he had some awareness of the supernatural. It was no big deal but she just had to be more careful when doing anything magical in school.

As more time had passed, things had started to settle down. She was resigned to the situation until one day where Shirou had called her at night the day before to not wait for him at the bridge in the morning. She had done as he had told her and had not waited for him. He did not arrive at school on time. She had half expected it when she had first got the call from him but it was still rather alarming for her to not see him at school even later in the day. He was absent. He would continue to be absent for some time to come...

* * *

Shirou had been coming to school for the past two weeks. It was a deliberate decision that he had undertaken. He wasn't feeling unwell, there was nothing wrong with him. He just needed more time. He had figured out some time ago that Rin was covering for him and he trusted that in this case she would also help cover his absences.

There were no teachers that had approached him about his declining conduct as a student. He had been surprised but he had also seen some signs that they have had their memory modified. He had been thankful for his friend and apologetic for the trouble but he did have better uses of his time. He only hoped he would be able to repay her when he succeeded.

He had made the decision in advance. He had called Rin and told her not to wait for him in the morning of the first day he had made the decision to forgo school. He had another destination in mind that was not the Fuyuki Bridge. He had woken up at the same time, he had the same morning routine. The only alteration to the program was that he had left the house early after preparing breakfast for Kiritsugu.

The reason for leaving the house early was to not arouse the suspicion of Kiritusugu. The reason to this was that he would be leaving the house with a different attire on. If he had left in his school uniform and had been noticed outside during curriculum time, things could get messy. While he could also do mind alteration spells, he had not possessed much skill in it and it would be an unnecessary hassle.

He had left in simple clothing. Just regular blue jeans and a white shirt. He did still have his scarf on though. While the weather was not hot enough to require a scarf. The scarf that he brought would be beneficial to what he wanted to achieve.

His intense and strenuous practice in his spell had its drawbacks, due to the strain of him often overusing his circuits, he often suffered from nosebleeds or blinding headaches, preventing him from continuing. He had found out a while ago that his scarf had possessed a healing ability. Due to this, he exploited this ability to be able to practice the spell for longer.

Rather than having a peaceful stroll to where he needed to go in the morning, he had decided to run there to safe time. He ran in the opposite direction to where he normally went when he traveled to school in the morning. He went towards the outer limits of the Miyama district and Fuyuki city. He ran on seldomly used paths, the paths he was running on weren't even paved.

It was a small dirt path he was running on, not a paved walkway. It was a path that likely existed centuries ago, when Fuyuki city was still a small dirt village and the Shinto district had still been a forest. Why wasn't this path paved even in the modern age? It was because it led nowhere. Nowhere except the mountain ranges filled with trees that surrounded Fuyuki city.

It had not taken long to get to there. It had taken half an hour and a lot of panting. Shirou was in great physical state but he was still twelve and he covered less distance with his legs that weren't as long as he would like at the moment. He had not used reinforcement or spells that would speed him up when running as while that would have shortened the time needed for him to get here, that would have also been a waste of magical energy.

Shirou placed his hands on his kneecaps as he hunched forward. He was heavily sweating and out of breath at the moment. As he took a moment to rest, he observed his surroundings. As his head was down, the first thing he saw was the ground. It was full of fallen leaves of differing colors. Some were red, some were yellow, some were green, some were a dead brown.

The leaves blanketed the floor of the forest he was in. There was no grass, just the dirt of the ground covered up by leaves, branches and twigs. Shirou straightened his body, feeling slightly less exhausted. He saw that he was deep into the forest. There were trees in all directions, he couldn't even spot which direction was Fuyuki City where he arrived from. The ground was at a slight incline of only a few degrees. He was currently north-west of Fuyuki city, closer to the coast. If he had traveled south, there was no doubt the incline would be more than the middling climb it was currently.

The trees weren't especially tall, a bit more then a dozen meters tall at best. There were a lot of trees densely packed together, perfect for what he needed. Between each tree there was only a gap of a few meters. There would be no sentient life for at least a kilometer in each direction.

Shirou had not traveled into this forest in order to communicate with nature. No. He had an objective he needed to complete by traveling here. He had figured out that in order to undo and defeat the curse on Kiritsugu, one cast by a heroic spirit, he had to have more knowledge about Curses. Not theoretical Knowledge, but rather practical knowledge.

Aside from practical knowledge, he also had no experience with Curses. He needed experience. He opened his magical circuits and projected four daggers. They were simple daggers with a steel hilt and handle. He willed his magical energy into the daggers and threw them upwards. The daggers flew in four directions at the same distance of a dozen meters away from him. The formed a square with him in the middle.

" **Set!"**

The four daggers impaled into the ground lit up with red magical circles around each dagger. A bright white line of magical energy connected each dagger to the next, linking all four magical circles together and creating a boundary around that small part of the forest.

The boundary defined by the line of magical energy was not a type of bounded field. It was rather a specification. A specification for a system that was meant to define the area of effect of the spell Shirou was about to cast. The spell would not have effect beyond its stated boundaries.

It was for this reason that after linking the magical circles together, Shirou quickly jogged out of the boundary and outside the confines of the magical lines. He did not want to be part of the effects of the spell he was about to cast.

" **May the truth foist its burden of significance upon me"**

Unlike the first time he had succeeded at this spell, there was no light show appearing after his Aria. He had corrected that problem. As he raised his left hand, it lit up with a white magical circle appearing when he willed it to. The previous magical circles surrounding the four daggers turned white as well. With this gesture, he had linked the confines specified with the daggers to the spell he was about to cast. With but a thought, he manifested the concept of decay onto all living material within the boundaries.

The effects were apparent immediately. The many trees within the boundaries that he had specified started to change in color rapidly, the leaves and branches on the ground also started to decay beyond their previous already decomposing state.

Upon seeing the signs of decay setting in, Shirou disconnected himself from the spell. The effects of the concept he had specified would continue and it would take a maximum of ten minutes for everything within to have decayed completely.

Shirou attempted to undo the effects. Due to him disconnecting himself from the active spell. He had effectively given up control on the spell and thus he would not be able to modify its current state. As such, he had to undo the effects of the spell instead of just cancelling it with a mental command.

It was not hard to undo the effects; it took about as much effort as it did to create the effects. What Shirou had done was to input magical energy onto his active system and undo the effects by casting the concept of nullification upon the previous spell. The singular magical circle on his left hand appeared again and faded upon the countering of the previous spell.

The aim of the experiment was not to know if he could undo a curse. He knew he could. The aim of this part of the experiment was to give him a basic baseline of the effort it took. The magical energy from his circuits required to cast the spell was of a similar amount to the magical energy that it took to nullify the previous spell. This might only be true at such a low expenditure of magical energy though.

The easiest solution to solving his father's condition if he had enough power was to simply cast the concept of nullification upon him. It would nullify the curse and the effects of the curse would be gone. Was the easiest solution the most efficient one as well? Shirou did not have unlimited magical energy after all, he had to go for efficiency rather than ease of use.

While the spell that Shirou had invoked was the concept of decay, the malady affecting his father was a Curse, not such a spell. Although, the most immediate issue at hand was a specific concept involved within his father's problem, decay. That was what was killing his father. The other effects were secondary. This was why he was focusing upon decay.

Sure, while he would like to undo the Curse completely and spare his father from the effects, he was running out of time. He had to be realistic here. He had to be efficient. He had to attack the key problem of the curse, he had to first make sure his father had not succumbed to the curse. There was ample time for the other parts of the curse once he had succeeded at undoing the most important part of it.

It was part of this need of efficiency in his spell casting that he had skipped school to obtain more time to find better methods to help his father. While being able to undo the effects of decay upon a small wood in the forest was good and all, he was still going up against a potential noble phantasm here. A Noble Phantasm would easily be able to obliterate the whole forest.

Shirou had to scale the effects up to more effectively emulate what he was going against. He clenched his fists, he reached out his senses towards the four daggers containing his magical energy that had made up the still active boundary anchors. With a silent command, the daggers decoupled themselves and flew into the air in an arc, once again landing at four different points and creating a new boundary, significantly larger by magnitudes this time.

Shirou had to use more effort this time. He controlled his breathing and drew out more magical energy, a quarter of his maximum output from his magical circuits. He fell deeper within the ocean of mist that he had entered whenever he required more of a concept. This time, instead of just brushing off just a slither of mist from the ocean or even gathering a portion equivalent to a large water tank, he grasped and pulled on what seemed like an entire sea of mist manifesting themselves as an intangible concept of decay.

The white magical circles appeared on both hands this time, and with a greater radiance as they pulsed once brightly before they again faded. Shirou looked around him, it seemed like the entire forest around him, living matter as far as he can see had begun to decay. As he had not yet disconnected himself from the spell, he was immune to its effects unlike the environment beside him.

The next step was a delicate matter. Shirou once again steadied his breathing, keeping it perfectly in sync with the other functions of the body and in tune with the environment before drawing another quarter of the output from his magical circuits. He once again delved into the ocean of mist and drew an equal amount of mist but this time manifesting itself in the concept of nullification before disconnecting himself from the previous spell and manifesting this new spell onto the environment around him. The two actions were done in sync at the same time, this way as long as the counter spell worked, he would not suffer the effects of being in confines of the spell.

The new spell manifested itself differently by producing a wave of energy coming out of him at its core spreading in all directions as it nullified the previous spell. The wave of energy spread for a distance before it hit the confines defined by the daggers and faded into the air.

The effects upon the environment had seemed to be nullified at the moment of the completion of the counter spell. Shirou was about to take a step forward when he fell forward onto the ground in a fit of weakness, catching himself on a single knee before clutching his heart underneath his shirt. He suffered an intense fit of disorientation before the pain disappeared as he spotted just out of the corner of his eye, his scarf pulsing brightly with an outline of magical energy shining along.

Upon orientating himself, he saw that the environment had restarted its progress of decay, the spell of nullification apparently having failed. This time however, he seemed to be included within its effects as he had disconnected himself from the spell. The only thing stopping him from also succumbing to the effects of the spell was the abilities of his scarf.

Now that he had been aware, he could be fine without his scarf as long as he had started to circulate magical energy through his magical circuits as resistance to the spell. It would cost a large amount of magical energy and he would eventually succumb, but he would be fine for the moment. It was with this thought that Shirou was glad he had brought his scarf, both for catching him in the moment of unawareness as well as being a reassurance as to the safety of the situation.

That being said, he had to stop the effects of the previous spell of decay. He did not want to imagine the fallout if an entire forest had been found decayed into nonexistence within a day. He took a deep breath once again and delved into the mist. This time, he took the same amount of mist as well but kept the link open if the spell required more magical energy to take effect.

He used a different concept this time. The previous concept of nullification had not worked. Or rather, it had worked, but not well enough. Shirou had been aware of this possibility when considering the possibilities of using the concept of nullification.

Nullification was to nullify all the effects, as if the previous incident had not happened entirely, there were no negative aftereffects, there was nothing. The incident had not ever happened. To use the concept of Nullification was to make the incident null, it had never happened. This was why Shirou had been caught unaware by the effects of his own spell.

The concept of Nullification imbued within the spell had worked against the concept of Decay onto the forest. However, the concept of nullification aimed to undo all effects within the confines of the spell, as if to undo time itself. Even if the spell had managed to make it seem as if the effects of decay had stopped, and prevented further decay but kept the past damage, the concept of nullification would still have the same result.

To nullify was to make it so as if the incident had not happened, as long as a minuscule presence of decay had still occurred within the confines of the spell, the nullification would undo itself. The continued existence of the concept of decay had still existed, this thoroughly disapproved the concept of making as if the incident had not existed and undone the entire concept of Nullification itself.

This was the problem of using Nullification as a concept. It was an absolute concept, akin to a rule of the universe itself. If it worked, it would work perfectly, undoing all effects, space and time and all fundamental laws of the universe included. If it didn't work, it would be akin as though the concept of Nullification had not appeared entirely. The continued existence of whatever was supposed to be nullified became the antithesis to the concept itself, defeating it entirely and rendering it null.

It was why this time, Shirou had decided to use the most efficient method of what he had learned thus far. This time, he manifested the concept of Sealing upon the confines of the spell. It was like he thought, a wave of energy blasted itself onto the confines of the spell before fading once again but he could see that the spell had worked. He had to make sure however.

Visual confirmation was not enough, Shirou had continued to wait for minutes before deactivating his magical circuits. The spell had worked. The decay had stopped. The effects were still there however, there were minor signs of decay upon the environment but the natural cycle of nature would repair the effects.

The spell of decay had been countered. The effects had stopped. By using the concept of Sealing, he had used even less magical energy than he had thought viable. This had proven something. There was merit as to Shirou's theory.

The concept of Sealing was to complete something. The Concept of decay was to decay within the confines until everything had been decayed completely before resolving the concept. How the concept of Sealing within this circumstance worked was as a specific concept.

To manifest a concept within the World was like making a contract with the universe. The concept would be manifested and it would exist until the concept had been completed or resolved. The key part of specifically choosing the concept of Sealing as a spell to counter had not been as a band aid to seal or stop the problem.

No. If the only aim had been to stop the problem, the concept of decay would have been stopped temporarily but it would still exist and resume the effects once the band aid had disappeared. To just simply stop the problem would be foolish. Shirou had theorized that the most efficient way to defeat a concept was to resolve the concept, to remove its meaning of existence instead of directly putting his might against the original concept.

It was due to this that Shirou had chosen the concept of Sealing. It was meant to provide a resolution towards the concept of decay. What this resolution did was act as an antithesis to signify the completion of the concept of decay and thus end the need for further decay. By ending the need of decay, the current state was all that was needed for the resolution of the concept before the concept had no need for existence entirely.

To use a general concept such as Nullification to encompass everything would require a large amount of magical energy to be successful, to use a direct counter concept such as Reinvigoration against decay would require an equal amount of magical energy to be successful but by using a specific concept such as Sealing to resolve the concept, only a minuscule amount of magical energy would be required.

It was this now proven theory that Shirou was relying on. It was the pinnacle of everything in magecraft that he had learned, his ultimate realization, his Magnum Opus. It was with this efficiency in the use of magical energy that Shirou would be able to undo the Curse that had ailed his father. It was with this revelation that Shirou would be able to overcome the power of a heroic spirit, legend and all. It was with this, that Shirou would be able to succeed in his quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Notes:
> 
> Time skip of half a year after Rin's conversation with Shirou and the conclusion of their project. We see the effects of the conversation immediately. While Shirou had never had much to care about school, he still was a good student. He neglected school to a degree for his quest but now his conduct devolves into delinquent behavior. The cause of this is his greater desperation towards his quest such that any time that can be spared (Time dedicated to school commitments) will be spared in order for more time to contribute to his quest.
> 
> It is due to this behavior that Rin is worried about him. It is her that had ignited this greater degree of desperation in Shirou after all. We find out that while she sympathizes with Shirou, she does have a motive as to having their conversation and sharing her experiences. Her motive seems to have backfired.
> 
> Instead of just being more realistic and resigned to the problem and prepared for the outcomes, Shirou just has a greater motivation to solve the problem. However, it is at this stage of Kiritsugu's health that his quest finally takes hold of every single waking moment of his life.
> 
> Every part of Shirou changes due to this desperation. Even his general demeanor. When he meets up with Rin in the morning, he lacks sleep, sleep he recovers in school. Rin believes that this is just a temporary phase before he gets better but Shirou never gets better. He just gets more desperate.
> 
> Meanwhile, we learn that Shirou's lessons in the foundation of magecraft with Rin have finally ended. This gives the opportunity for less interactions between them. Normally, Shirou would continue to help her, but Shirou decides that he would repay her in greater amounts after he succeeds in saving Kiritsugu. He believes the time is paramount at his moment.
> 
> It is part of this need to optimize what time he has that Shirou even risks doing magecraft in school, albeit hidden behind a bounded field. We see Rin's concern as to Shirou health caused by his behavior. She is left in a precarious solution as it is nor her place to ask him to stop, nor would she want to, but she has to watch her dearest friend hurt himself until the conclusion of his quest.
> 
> While she laments the lack of interaction between them, she still decides to support Shirou by helping cover for him for that is the extent of what help she thinks she can provide for her friend. Shirou's decline gets worse and worse until he forgoes school entirely until he concludes his quest.
> 
> Back to Shirou, we see what he goes through. He is very apologetic for burdening his friend but his quest is still the most important thing at the moment. We see what he does and where he goes when he skips school.
> 
> Shirou needs more experience casting his spells with a high energy level so at this stage practicing in his shed just doesn't cut it anymore. We see how he practices as he performs his spells as well as the aim of his experiments. He knows he has to be smart about casting his spells due to going up against what was likely a noble phantasm in the form of a Curse.
> 
> He almost suffers harm from getting caught off guard by the spell he had previously cast. The scarf helps him greatly in this time of weakness. He delves into the likely reason why his spell of the concept of Nullification has apparently failed.
> 
> The rest is more lore as well as why conceptualization as an Origin is so compelling. Shirou isn't so much bottle necked by his actual abilities as much as he is hindered by how he uses his abilities. The lore given here is a deeper look into the actual use of conceptualization in spells. Conceptualization and concepts are the embodiment of reasons of existence. This is the key to this Magic. It's not about if Shirou can do something or if he has enough magical energy to do something but rather how he decides to do something. Its more about being smart and understanding of his own Origin than any limits.
> 
> The only problem left is that understanding increases with time. Fortunately, Shirou has the exact understanding that he needs at the moment.


End file.
